Toradora!

Volume 7

Chapter 1
She didnt really want to admit shed been bothered about something else, but
Sitting on a frozen, battered bench, and hanging her neck low with a glove resting on her head,
Kushieda Minori still couldnt bring herself to stand up. Each of her teammates tried to give her
words of encouragement. Chief, please cheer up; Everybody was in bad shape today; These days
happen; Its only a practice match, dont worry about it. She couldnt not worry about it. As
their chief, it was too pathetic. She couldnt forgive herself for fouling up this miserably.
If shed been asked if she played in this match, with really, honestly, no distractions, at 100%
concentration, the fact was that she couldnt give a firm yes.
It had happened at the end of the ninth inning, with two outs, bases empty, and a three to one
lead at the final stretch.
The ball, making a dumb sound as it was hit, had come falling down in a slow bounded arc, like
it was saying catch me to the glove she had drawn out. Okay, we won, then, catch. Throw it to
first and game over, or what should have been game over. But instead of that, What!? What
are you doing, Kushieda! Kya!
The screaming had come from their bench. Shouts of, We did it, we did it! Go, run! were
coming from the bench of the other school. No way. All the hairs on her head bristled. For some
reason, the ball fell out of her glove before she could throw it. The more she panicked, the more
the situation worsened, and when she tried to pick up the rolling ball, she accidently kicked it
away. There were cries telling her to run. Nowaynowaynoway, not good, not good, not good.
When she failed at picking it up again, the runner had already made it to second base. With
screaming and cheering in the backdrop, she finally picked up the ball and threw it to third base.
But, it was a bad throw. The runner made it to home plate. So then.
The dust had been so thick she could choke from it.
Her body had been chilled by the midwinter wind.
It had been the late afternoon of one Sunday day. The light of the sun was tilted.
She had sat there, vanquished and unable to rise up.
It was like a domino effect. The stupid mistake of their ace number, Kushieda Minori, was
the trigger that broke the teams concentration and since then, it didnt recover. One person went
to first base due to a base on balls, and in no time flat, the other team scored back one point
thanks to more and more errors, and then finally, a homerun.
Aaaano
She hunched her back while holding her glove-hooded head. She pushed her nose against her
knee, not minding the dirt on it.
It wasnt her teams fault. It wasnt okay because it was a practice match. It wasnt that she was
in bad shape. It wasnt just today.
It was because she had been distracted and couldnt concentrate. Thats the reason for this
mess. In other words, if she kept being like this, her team probably wouldnt be able to win again.
What am I doing

What are you doing!?

I didnt do anything
You dilly-dallying, dilly-dallying, dilly-dallying, dilly-dallying, dilly-dallying, dilly-dallying, dillydallying, dilly-dallying, dilly-dallying, dilly-dallying, dilly-dallying, super-dilly-dallier! The
midwinter breeze spiraled like a typhoon with the showered insults and whirled up from Takasu
Ryuujis feet. With bangs of hair fluttering and eyes wide open inside the whirl of frozen wind, his
appearance was most certainly, an illustration of the explosive birth of a demon king. His sinister
countenance would have given onlookers the impression that he could blow away a star or two as
he pleased. Except, its not like he became a demon king because he wanted to. Hes just a little
down because somebody pointed out a certain fact to him in public.
There was nothing I could do! After all,
Shup!
The mystery shout was accompanied by a roundtrip slap on the right and the left. He probably

had been told to shut up. Holding both cheeks, Ryuuji fell silent. Yet again, he was taken aback by
this sudden act of violence. Then,
Dont make excuses you damn dilly-dallier! You damn dilly-dallying, damn ugly, damn horny
Russell Terrier! Be a rice stocker for the rest of your life! Fish-flake smearer! You and your
Blacky, the Sea Lion face!
The intensifying verbal abuse was like a multi-warhead missile launched from another
dimension. The missiles inside gorged the heart of the demon king by force from all angles and
was finished off by the mocking sound of a Keh! The hooligan, no, thats too soft a
description for her. That ogre tilted her body back with cold arrogance.
Her pose was haughty. Her raised chin was arrogant. Her scorn-filled half-opened eyes emitted
coldness. That girl, cheeks tinged in rose-red from the cold wind and brushing her hair upwards,
was Aisaka Taiga the beautiful evil ogre known as the Palmtop Tiger.
Her French-doll-like, delicate, beautiful face; her petite small stature which is also the reason
why she is called palmtop; and her voice, which from her build, was surprisingly low, cool, and
had little vocal inflection,
Ryuuji, you might really live the rest of your life alone
Slash! He was cut across from the shoulder.
Ryuuji turned into a silent stone statue on the street. This was more brutal than the roundtrip
slap, he thought. Just listen to this cruel statement, the icing on top of the cake of a to defeat by
slander-propelled onslaught of derision. Wasnt this violence itself? Officer, is this really okay? Is
this justice, Japan? Shouldnt this be enforced by the law? Scraping together the shattered pieces
of his courage and holding tight his broken heart, Ryuuji gathered power in both his eyes. He
mustered together his courage and glared at Taiga.
D-.dont think that this law-abiding nation will let you go running wild forever.!
Haa?
His life-and-death act of defiance turned into dust and was wiped out in an instant in the face
of her ear-picking Haa? Cold wind blew between the two of them, separated by sharp silence.
It was that kind of midwinter Sunday.
The sun fell fast. Even though it was a little past five oclock, the sky already begun to show the
colors of the night. The familiar shopping area was just a little bit crowded and full of housewives
and their families, masked old ladies groups, and youngsters on their way to entertain
themselves.
His elbow lightly bumped against by a passerby. Ryuuji gently lowered his head on reflex and
moved out of the way. Thats right, now matter how much that horrible thing she said had hurt,
he couldnt keep standing still like a statue in the middle of the street. Hell get in the way of the
pedestrian traffic. He returned to being a living human being with common sense and was about
to start walking, but,
Huh? Taiga?
He noticed that the other-dimensional-missile-firing ogre that had been right in front of him
was gone. Even though she was an ogre, she was a palmtop tigerthat didnt make sense, but
anyway, what he wanted to say was that she was small. Petite Taiga might have been swept away
by the crowd and become lost.
Hey! Taiga, where did you go!
With heavy eco-bags hanging on both arms, Ryuuji briefly moved right and left, wandering
inside the crowd, looking for the hair swirl of the missing Taiga. The visual markers he was
looking for were wavy hair reaching the waist, an expensive-looking white Angora coat, and a
fluffy mens muffler wrapped three times.
They would both be going back to the same Takasu residence anyway, and even if she returned
to her own home, her apartment was next door. In this case, he thought it was okay if they went
home separately, but it was more than a little worrisome to him that he lost sight of her under
this chilly December sky. Where was she? Furrowing his brows at this, he looked around for her,
but then, Eek! He mentally told the young mother carrying her child and running to the edge of
the street to avoid him I am not a street slasher. Then,
What are you doing? You almost look like a street slasher when youre standing there.
Ou! Where did you go, Ive been looking for you! Wait, you really dont give a damn about
me at all
Taiga, smoothly appearing from the wave of passers-by, grinned, then said, This, this, showing

him what her right hand was holding. Even though the lower half of it was covered with plastic
wrap, the sweet smell of butter and milk, and the all-too-signature ring shape couldnt be
mistaken for anything else.
A donut. Where did you get it?
Over there. Hehe. It smelled nice so I bought it! I dont know what itll taste like, so I only
bought one for now. If its good, Ill line up again and buy a lot.
There was a white minivan parked past the alley that Taiga pointed at using the donut. The
back hatch was used as a makeshift storefront and several people were lined up. Now that she
mentioned it, that area did smell sweet. To sweets lovers like Taiga, it must have been an
irresistible scent. Even Ryuuji certainly didnt have any objection to the taste of sweets. Really,
he said, eyes automatically passing over the handwritten advertising board, but then, his head
immediately tilted. The letters written with magic markers for what was thought to be the name
of the store was Krispy Kreamy That reeked of flat-out trademark infringement. Actually,
what else could it be other than trademark infringement?
Is that really safe? The shop names suspicious right off the bat.
Its fine. See, see, that person over there is eating while walking. It isnt poisoned. Probably.
Why the hell do you have to brace yourself for something like that when you eat?
Because, look, it says Krispy Kreamy. Haha, this is definitely a rip-off.
Which is why I said its suspicious. A normal store wouldnt be using a name that identical
because of trademarks.
But, I just cant eat the ones from the real place. I once peeked inside, but its always so
crowded! I got sick just looking at the lines! But see, the people that eat their donuts say it, dont
they? Its crisp, but its fluffy, and melts in your mouth. I really wanted to taste it.
Yeah, they do say their donuts taste totally different from other donuts.
Yes, yes. And if theyre being this bold about selling their donuts with that close a name, dont
you think they made their donuts so theyll taste close? Mmmm, it smells good! And now, for the
taste
Opening her big mouth with an Ahh, Taiga bit down on the edge of the donut ill-manneredly
on the street. At that very moment, her pleasant smile gradually dulled and her expression
turned dubious with each jaw-biting motion.
How was it? Different from the other stores, huh?
Taiga nodded while chewing. However, her tension was obviously low.
Yesitscertainlydifferent.Its kind of, dry. The water in my mouth is being sucked
up
Eat all of it, MOTTAINAI .
Ah, I have a good idea! Lets leave this in your closet. I bet itll suck up the humidity.
Eat all of it, MOTTAINAI.
Ugh
Looking at the large donut with some bitterness, Taiga frowned. The people that bought the
same thing and were eating and walking did seem lively. Nobody had collapsed. But their
expressions were uniformly dubious. Taiga also joined the group of dubious expressions. Ryuuji
nor Taiga were meddlesome enough to go out the way to tell the junior high girls happily lining
up with change in one hand and shrieking, Hey, donuts~!, Hey, its Krispy Kreme (incorrect)~!
that it tasted awful.
Dammit, why did you have to eat something strange before dinner? How much did you pay?
200 yen
Two hundred yen! You paid 200 yen to eat a closet moisture absorber!
This was his revenge for the previous verbal abuse. Actually, it wasnt so much as that. He had
to bring himself to say something to Taiga, donut in one hand and tension spiraling downwards.
This was educational instruction to make sure she didnt make the same mistake ever again.
Incidentally, tonights dinner was a simple yellowtail and Mizuna nabe made with Japanese
alcohol, complete with spicy hot lotus root and burdock kinpira with chicken skin, and mixed
grain rice cooked with ginger. And frankly, the yellowtail was expensive. Fillets, but still
expensive. Caught wild, so they were expensive. But he bought them. Three persons worth.
Because its the season! Even the fish-farmed ones arent cheap so if he was going to buy
yellowtail, he might as well take the wild one! And, also,
Todays yellowtail nabe is for your celebration!

I know
Youre not psyched up enough! You dont get it! Youre getting fooled by strange street stall
donuts because youre acting like that! You saw the price didnt you!? You can tell Im psyched
right!? How dare you waste the space in your stomach on an awful snack.I dont want to have
to be petty about this, but the yellowtail is my treat! Dammit, I dont care if its fake, give me a
jubilant reaction thats worth the amount it cost!
Yay, yay, its yellowtail, its yellowtail!
Do it again!
A big catch of yellowtail~, yippy!
Gazing at Taiga jumping with expressionless delight with the donut in one hand and her long
hair bobbing up and down, Ryuuji nodded his head. With this done, the yellowtail and the
several bills that vanished from the Takasu family budget can go to heaven appeased. Taigas 200
yen will probably become angry spirits and wander aimlessly for eternity, but theyre not in
Ryuujis jurisdiction.
Thats right. Tonights a celebration. Tomorrow, Monday, Taigas suspension will end. From
tomorrow, Taiga can go to school. Now that he thought about it, those two weeks went by quickly.
In other words, two weeks have already passed since that nightmarish incident Ryuuji sighed
once more. A nightmare, or ano, he didnt want to remember it. What was the use in
remembering? The fact was that Taiga didnt get expelled and could go to school again tomorrow.
Isnt that more than enough? Thats how Ryuuji felt, with a feeling peaceful feeling inside of him,
but,
So. We were still in the middle of that conversation. Why are you, like this?
The girl in the Angora coat narrowed both her eyes. Just the slight movement of her eyelids
made him predict that tyranny would come dripping out. Cautiously distancing himself, he asked
her,
.Like, what?
Like why are you such a dilly-dallier. Why cant you do anything in the chance you had when
a pest like me was out of the way. Why cant you raise your intimacy level with Minorin. Thats
what I wanted to say. Just what have you been doing? For whose sake do you think I became
suspended?
That wasnt for my sake, you know.
Dont change the subject, you coward!

Ryuuji instinctively shut his mouth from the irrationality that penetrated the pit of his body bit
by bit. Taiga closed the distance between them with no pause and began further pursuit.
You could have walked to school with her, just the two of you, when I wasnt here! You could
have asked her to eat lunch with you! You could have made plans with her over the weekend!
There were tons of things that you should have done, right!? So why havent you!? I bet you
havent even been sending emails to each other right!? Ha! What a laugh, you dilly-dallying, dillydallying, dilly-daow! I bit my tongue.!
Ryuuji seizing this chance, succeeded in presenting his excuse to Taiga as she held her mouth
back in agony.
There was really nothing I could have done! If youre gone, Kushieda wont come to the usual
spot in the morning, shell eat lunch with the other girls, Im not close to those girls, and after
school, shed be with her club the whole time! Even with email, theres nothing I can think of that
I can sense casually!
Once he said it, he felt pathetic. But this was the truth.
When Taiga was suspended and stopped going to school, all the common ground between
Ryuuji and Minori vanished in an instant. Because of how long his crush was, the distance
between the two of them shrank it still wasnt a romantic relation yet, but at least it seemed like
they became friends. But, ultimately, without Taiga, their common point, Ryuuji couldnt even
keep up a conversation with Minori. Of course, it wasnt as if they were ignoring each other, and
they had been greeting each other on the level of good morning, bye bye, YO, how you doing, if
they saw each other.
Ryuuji was about to make a long sigh but stopped. Ah ha. He lifted his face.
.Then again, compared with April, this is a big improvement..? Yeah, it might be.
He crossed his arms, about to convince himself with a yep, yep, that might be true follow-up, but

O-F, COUR, SE, IT, IS-NT, YOU, DIL-LY, DAL-LI-ER

Hiwaaai
A new type of scream, one never made before, emerged from his throat. Thats our Taiga, the
rare scream maker. But, this was not the time to be saying that.
Taigas fingers had grabbed Ryuujis upper lip as if to pull and were going tear it with full force
from above. In this situation where it seemed like the part connecting the gums and the inner
side of the upper lip could go RIIIP at any moment, Ryuuji unconsciously tilted his head upwards
and stood tiptoed, out of fear that his whole face might be ripped off.
Because she wont wait for you? Thats stu-pid! Stu-pid, stu-pid, stwuuuupid! How long are you
going to take the wait approach!? Who do you think you are!? Hachikou!? If you shut up, be
passive, and wait, do you think Minorin is going to conveniently ask you out!? Ooh my, oh my,
what a loser! How horrifying! My god!
Huuhiwawa!
Pulling the upper lip upwards with wrongful power, Taiga raised her donut. It was ghastly just
imaging what she might do with it to him.
This habitually opportunistic procrastinator must be given the death penalty! Keep on waiting
for Minorin in the afterlife!
Hahyaaaaaa!
- Help!
He closed his eyes and began seeing his life flash before his eyes from this genuine life and
death crisis. Nursery schoolwetting myself at graduationentering primary school I
was the only one with a used backpackschool trip at grade 2Yasuko woke up late so no
packed lunchand right around that time, people started calling me Gangster-kun
Ah.
At the same time she uttered this small voice, Taigas fingers came off of Ryuujis upper lip
abruptly. Staggering after being freed from the upward gravity hoisting his face, he opened his
tear-moist face. Then,
Ou.!
Ryuuji also grunted quietly. The people around stopped moving, and here and there, there
were cries of Wah! and Wow!
A band of light raced across the store fronts lined up on both sides of the street.
Illumination, probably purchased by the neighborhood committee, lit up all at once. Twinkling
gold blinked on and off in loops and waves as if to trail the buildings, while glittering blue traced
a brilliant flashing but continuing arch. The sky of the shopping area became a vivid
planetarium in a wink and drowned out the pale evening stars.
The light was beautiful.
BGM starting off with the sound of bells ringing came out from the speakers, and a smiling
Santa and a red-nosed reindeer nestling against each other were brightly lit in a fir tree-shaped
lamp hanging on a street lamp. In the balloon-type illumination, the letters Merry Christmas!
twinkled.
Right..yes, thats right! Its almost Christmas!
Surrounded by twinkling lights, Taiga broadly stretched out her arms and looked at the sky. An
innocent smile, one that he had never seen before, appeared on her face. She whirled around
and turned to Ryuuji.
Wo.w! Oh, how beautiful! .How wonderful! There wasnt anything this fabulous last
year!
The twinkling LEDs reflecting in her eyes dazzled with gem-like brilliance. I wonder if theres a
tree somewhere!? As he looked at Taiga, before he knew it, Ryuuji forgot about the pain in his
upper lip and smiled.
Ou! They really put a lot of energy into this years decorations. Christmas, huh? Yeah, its
pretty soon.
You know, about Christmas. I-
Once she shut her eyes tight, closed her fists, and crouched her legs, Taiga jumped ridiculously
with her arms and legs stretched out as if she were exploding like a firework and shouted, LOVE
IT. Oh my, that girl sure is happy, noticed the passers-by, smiling. With both her hands still
extended and her head bent backwards facing the sky, the sparkle in Taigas eyes twinkled even
more. It even looked as if she were teary-eyed, as if she would cry.

Ah, what fun! Ill have to be a good girl for a while! I have to be a good girl! Since hell be
arriving in Japanese airspace soon!
Who will?
Isnt it obvious? Its Santa! Santa Claus!
Taiga shouted this with no embarrassment and beamed.
Let me have this. Ill carry the other bag for you.
One eco-bag was stolen from Ryuujis arm. Ah, thief! Er, no. Then he moved by reflex.
Wha, what is it?
Taiga, dont die!
I dont have a fever, she said, pushing away Ryuujis hand which had been pressed against
her forehead. The way she used her hands, however, was far gentler than normal. There was
neither harshness nor scorn in her earnest eyes as well.
Sometimes I want you to let me help you, thats all! At least for now, when Santas
approaching, I really am going to be a good girl. I really, really, love Christmas!
No, I understand that, but its too sudden and.uh, why? Why do you like Christmas that
much?
What do you mean why! Do I need a reason to like Christmas!? See, the towns all sparkly and
pretty, everyone is smiling and happy and.thats right! Ryuuji, please, on the 25th, make an
amaaaazing dinner! Something amazing that we havent eaten normally before! Like, TA-DAH,
its chicken! Or, TA-DAH, its beef! Or! The stuff foreigners eat!
TA-DAH, its chicken! TA-DAH, its beef!
Had there ever been words that caused Ryuujis heart to race so much? Ryuujis raised
sanpaku eyes glimmered with crazed excitement and trembled. Then, he licked his lipsbut it
wasnt all because he was thinking about TA-DAH, its chicken! ,TA-DAH, its beef! , TA-DAH, its
human!, or higiigyaahahahafu! The romantic Christmas lights were simply sparkling in his
opened eyes.
Now that you already said it, I suddenly cant wait to try it out..! Ou! Im fired up!
Christmas dinner is going to be an extraordinary feast, right! Okay, leave it to me!
I leave it to you! Ill go to the department basement and buy whole the most delicious cake they
have! Ehehehe, which one should I go to!? Should it be Bche de noel!? Ah, I better buy a
magazine and do some research! Oh right, I should get champagne for Yacchan, the best type
they have!
Kyaaa, what fun! The two of them were pumped up for a while on the street, and then. Now
then. Even the timing of how they suddenly shut their mouths was in perfect sync.
The problem is
Eve, right. .I dont know whos responsible for deciding it, but
To the public, its a day for couples
Ryuuji and Taiga exchanged glances and both sighed immediately after. What had been on
their minds, of course, were their respective crushes. For Ryuuji, it was Kushieda Minori, and for
Taiga, it was Kitamura Yuusaku.
In particular, in Taigas case, there were circumstances that would make her want to at least
sigh.
..I, cant do it. I cant ask him. Its, ..how should I say it? Its like taking advantage of
him when hes down? Thats what it feels like.Taken advantage of his broken heart.
It happened two weeks ago. On the same day that Taiga was suspended, Kitamura masterfully
performed the feat of being rejected by the previous Student President in front of all the students
of the school.
Just the fact that Kitamura had a Bro..a woman he loved was probably a shock to Taiga, but
because that Bro.woman was physically separated in the form of study abroad, it became
unnecessarily difficult to create a fair situation. Even Ryuuji could understand this well.
But speaking of a fair environment being difficult to make,
But, Kitamuras been worried about you being suspended.
No way! Really? We-well I did get emails asking me about how I was doing.
For real. If you invited Kitamura, he definitely wouldnt say no.
Aaah.you think!? But I dont really like that! Its like subtly forcedI cant tell if he is really
happy about being asked, or if hes only being nice.
.Yeah, maybe. If you were a woman deft enough to take advantage of the situation and

settle things at once, you wouldnt be merrily shopping with me for tonights dinner, on a Sunday
night thats also the night before the end of your suspension.
Together with Taiga, who was weakly muttering Youre riiight, Ryuuji once again slowly began
to walk.
Needless to say, he wanted to support Taigas romance, but this situation was too messy. Taiga
started a fight with the person that turned Kitamura down and was suspended as a result.
Kitamura naturally feels indebted to Taiga and there was probably no way that hed refuse
anything that Taiga asked of him. In other words, because she had such an advantage, it was
unfair, which made it harder for her to act.
Next to this weakened Taiga, Ryuuji also had the blues. He thought that he also definitely
couldnt ask the person he liked on a date on Eve.
If there was a reason he couldnt ask Minori out, it was much simpler than Taigas. First, that
day was Eve. Honestly, there was a lot of pressure. The date of December 24 was far too
romantically oriented globally (or was that only in Japan?). If he tries having a date on that day,
its going to turn into a confession or a proposal. He didnt think it was a day where he could get
away with an, I had fun today, anyway, Ill see you later, line. And confessing to Minori c-c-c-ccant do it. Its too fast, impossible. And the next reason was even more practical. In a busy season
like Eve for the foodservice industry, labor-loving Minori was probably going to be busy with parttime work. This was very possible.
Aaah. Even if I cant ask Kushieda out, its boring to stay inside the house. Still, if we go
outside, the couples are going to be all lovey-dopeyHow about we rent a DVD and watch it at
your place?
Hah!? What are you saying you horne-
Oh, no, must be a good girl, must be a good girl., she said, closing her mouth shut, distorted
from nearly insulting him, and then massaged her face around the center of her forehead. Then,
she formed a gentle anti-Santa face and said,
Oh Ryuuji dear, so full of sexual lust you are. Thats not good, what are you saying? You
will ask Minorin out just fine. Youll be fine. Im with you; I, who have been reborn as the angel of
this love, Lord Angel Taiga.
YAY. She gave the V-sign for victory. Ryuuji instantaneously replied,
I feel sick!
His honest feelings blurted out from his mouth. However, Taiga still remained gentle, clasped
her hands in prayer and said,
Say what you will. The present me is a living Buddha.
Youre pulling the same facial transformation routine that Kawashima does! And hold on,
youre a Buddha!? Werent you supposed to be an angel!
Right, Im an angel, an angel. In order to protect everyones happy Christmas, Angel Taiga is
unwaveringly prepared to roll up a sleeve or two and even take it all off.
Uh huh, take it all off. I heard it, so you better follow up. Youre going to do just that.
Do as you please! But plan your usage carefully! Anyway, you will ask Minorin out for a
Christmas Eve date! Absolutely! Angel Taiga will handle the production! Uhehe, I wonder if
Santas looking! At my pure and good determination!

As Taiga was getting carried away with her eyes sparkling from the lights, Ryuuji no longer had
the willpower to be the straight man. It was honestly too difficult for him to comprehend how
Taiga could be in such a hyper high-tension state just by the coming of Christmas. It was beyond
Ryuujis understanding. However, what was the point in raising the hurdles even further for this
drastically low-success-rate mission? Theres nothing more worrisome as much as when Taigas
motivated but he couldnt say that out loud.
Ryuuji, do your best! Yes, its Christmas after all! .I want everyone to be happy! Which is
why I have to be a good girl!
Swinging her hair, Taiga looked hard at the lights, her eyes brightening, and apparently
hardened her unwavering determination or whatever it was. The worrisome-ness also became
bigger and bigger as if it were proportional to her increasing determination.
I dont need your backup. Stop it, I mean it.
Why?
Finally, Ryuuji broke the silence.

Because I definitely cant do it! Asking her for a date on Eve? Thats spilling the beans about
me liking her isnt it!? I knew it, I cant do it, I cant do it! Its blatantly fishy! I cant ask her
casually!
You dont have to be ca, ca, ca, geez.you dont have to be casual about it.
Haughtily sticking her chest out and raising an eyebrow, Angel Taiga stuck a white finger onto
the tip of Ryuujis nose. That was close if this wasnt the angel version of Taiga, the finger might
have went up a nostril and poked his brain.
Its fine if she finds out. Yes, take the opportunity to say flat out how you feel. Its Christmas, so
you have to say what you want to say the most! Be honest, Ryuuji! You have me and Santa as
your guardian spirits!
Te-te-tetell her how I.! You idiot! Theres no way I can do that right!? It doesnt
matter if youre an angel, if youre a Buddha, or if Santas watching, I cant do what I cant do!
Ryuuji frantically shook his head to the side as if blood was gushing from the top of his head.
Well, yes, he does want to tell her how he feels. He wants to just say he likes her. He wanted his
long crush to bloom, on Christmas Eve, on the day of lovers.
But Ryuuji was too clumsy, timid, and negative. He kept thinking of bad stuff like, what if his
one-sided feelings inconvenienced Minori or what if it ended up destroying the feeble
relationship they constructed. He couldnt believe there was a happy next step waiting for him
beyond the confession. Thats why, it was good enough to keep things the way they were, thats
how he felt.
Youll be fiiine, youll be fine, leave it to me, Taiga spoke
softly, as if singing, while she started walking ahead of him.
Then, within the busy crowd of pedestrians, she
unexpectedly twirled around, and then, for some reason,
put that partially bitten closet moisture absorberer, the
donut ring, over her head.
Ehehe, what do you think? Dont you think I really look
like an angel!?
.You dont look like one. Also, crumbs are falling onto
your head.
No way!? Uwawa.Brush it off, brush it off!
Ryuuji, sighing, brushed the hair of a sorrowfully stupid
Taiga. Small, sweet scented pieces of it sprinkled down the
tip of her nose and her long hair. What an idiot she is,
seriously.
But, still.
Ignoring the production bit, it might not be so bad for
there to be a good girl version of Taiga once a year. Ryuuji
smiled slightly as he watched Taiga brush off the donut pieces that fell on to her face with her
small hand.
Spending Christmas happily was, probably, the wish of all humanity.

Ah! Shes here! Its Tiger-san!

The Palmtop Tigers returned to school!
Tiger-saaan! Welcome back!
Uoooooo! Rumbling and coarse shouting reverberated together with rowdy footsteps. Ryuuji
unconsciously cringed and swiftly stepped aside to one side of the hallway. That turned out to be
the correct course of action. Surrounding Taiga, who came to school for the first time in two
weeks, were men to her right, men to her left, men in front, guy behind, men, men,
menmenmen.a men-filled Palmtop Tiger Fan Club, also known as the martial arts maniac
male students. They were a group of men continuing to look at, with passionate eyes, the
overwhelming power and natural fighting sense of the Palmtop Tiger, Aisaka Taiga, and her
sadistic, ruthless tyranny. He had known about them for a while actually. Their numbers
gradually increased, and at the Cultural Festival, when Taiga performed in the pro-wrestling and
the beauty contest, they multiplied, and before he knew it, they assembled a considerable
number of people to become a fine corps of whackos.
Takasu-kun, out of the way! Tiger-san, I have a question!

Ou!
Ryuuji was shoved out of the way and pushed further against the wall. In a blink of an eye,
dozens of men were around Taiga, who had walked to school together with him. She was stuck in
a whirl of roaring and sizzling hot frenzy, even thought it was winter.
Tiger-san! We really want to know what happened! In the mythical Bro vs. Palmtop Tiger
battle, Tiger-san won right!?
Because you heard about Bro studying abroad, in order to settle things once and for all, you
picked your first and last fight with her didnt you!? Uooo, what a hot plot twist!
We have faith in Tiger-sans victory!
Good lord Ryuuji, kicked out of the frenzied ring, realized what had happened. The
nightmarish battle two weeks back apparently mutated into this story among the students that
didnt know the facts. And the matter of who won, still unclear because of conflicting reports, was
that Bro went abroad and Taiga was suspended However, it wasnt something that simple.
Silence!
The men were silenced by Taigas voice. Squinting their bedazzled eyes, the onlookers
gratefully and reverently looked at the figure of Taiga, raising her hand as if to control the area.
Ryuuji gulped. With a shout of keh! or kah!, a normal Taiga would shred, throw, shred, throw,
then kick, stomp, spit, and finally put them on the ignore list. That is what should have happened.
However, todays Taiga said,
The fight on that day..was very tough! A lot happened and it was dangerous!
She was very much into this. She theatrically crossed her arms then closed her eyes like she
was recalling what happened.
The men held their breath in reaction to Taigas gracious words and brought their ears
forward. Then, she dauntingly stood up to full height inside the circle of men and broadly opened
her eyes.
Hooooooowever!
The men standing still and alert, rumbled. Then Ryuuji understood what was going on. Ah ha,
so this was one part to the Christmas-only good girl Angel Taiga. With Christmas close at hand,
good girl Taiga was trying to make her obnoxious fans happy.
It should be obvious! The last one standing in the ring is the victor! In oooooooother words! I,
am the true victor!
Thats Korosuke! cynically reacted Ryuuji alone, however, UOOOOOOOOooo! We finally have
it, the victory proclamation! Our Tiger-sans Number Oooooone! The men, amassing tears
even, popped their party poppers and threw out confetti. During the applause and shouting and
jubilation, for some reason, a chorus of Uii, aa zaa tyanpion . began spontaneously. Then, they
split up and lined up at both sides of the hallway, folded their arms up high, and made a runway
for sending Taiga to the classroom with a hot Tiger cheer. Angel Taiga generously nodded,
answering to the frenzied call, and proceeded down the runway rapidly. Despite being patted
hard on the shoulder and the back with male force while being told, Keep putting up the good
fight! Tiger-san rules! etc., it did not distill the good-humored smile on her rose-like lips. In
some cases, someone thrusting his face forward and asking her to hit him would be knocked
away with a full-force slap, further increasing the cheers.
What the Ryuuji was taken aback, but at that time, someone yelled Takasu-kun, you go
too! and pushed his back down the runway. Unable to turn back now, he managed to put both
hands on Taigas shoulders and followed her from behind. The two of them wound up walking
enveloped by the Tiger cheer and low chorus, as if they were a wrestler and a manager entering
a ring. Still, he could say this is fun in a way but that would be an utter lie. He didnt like it.
Y, you..are you okay with this!?
Nua, ha ha ha ha ha! Its great! I didnt think so many fans would be awaiting my return! Im
glad I didnt quit school on impulse!
Tiger-san! Hit me too!
Why certainly!
Whip! Out went one more sharp slap. The receiving person rubbed his swollen cheek and
suddenly rolled over on the floor. He had a very happy mug on his face, but to Ryuuji, he didnt
have time to be encircled by the excitement of these men any further.
We have something more important to do, remember!? Lets ditch these guys and get to the
classroom quickly!

Ah, okay, okay, I know.

Still coupled together like linked cars, Taiga and Ryuuji sped up and exited the musky and
male-stinking runway to head to 2-C with applause at their backs.
Whats bothering him should be the same for her too. Minori wasnt waiting at the usual spot.
Even when it was the commemorative day of Taigas return to school. Even when, although they
almost didnt make it, arrived on time. They didnt even get a message from her about going
ahead. This was the first time this ever happened. Maybe Minori was at home, sick today, or,
The trembling tendon~
While Ryuuji was worrying about that, it happened the moment he opened the classroom door.
A high-toned open throat voice suddenly poured out.
Of a taut~thigh~
Wha, what the!?
It was Kushieda Minori.
Grass in mouth and sitting on top of someones desk.
With cheeks red from the cold wind, a blue pea coat on top of her uniform, a Tartan check
muffler around her, and giving off the air that she just arrived, she sang with a Castrato voice. In
her eyes was an ancient forest. Ryuuji was struck speechless, but the one next to him wasnt the
sort that would become surprised by this level of mysteriousness after all the time shes been with
her.
Minoriiin! Im back! So please stop that weird song and glomp!
Clung on to by a leaping glomp, Minori lost her balance and was about to tumble off the desk.
She was able to recover her footing just in time, and said,
Fugu.Free me! I am human!
Minorinminorinmiinoriinu!
Live! You are human too!
I love you Minorin! Fuga!
Ah, it cant be stopped! Minorin loves you too!
Staggering, Minori firmly embraced Taiga, the attention-wanting human disaster. Rubbing her
nose against Taigas hair swirl, she ruffled her hair until it was a mess and cuddled her like
crazy. Incidentally, Taiga was wearing a grey duffle coat and black winter tights (the real 100
denier deal) and today, instead of stealing Ryuujis muffler, covered her neck by shoving her long
hair inside her coat.
Oh, Minorin! I weally, weally, missed youuuuuu!
Taiga buried her face at the back of Minoris neck and pressed forward with her forehead
while, for all intents and purposes, wailing. Stopping all of it with her chin, Minori kiss-stamped
Taigas forehead.
Theeere, there, there! Taigas current intelligence is at the Rei-san class! And by Rei, Im not
talking about the Ayanami one you know? I mean the giant space bull! Moo!
What, I dont get it! More importantly, why didnt you come with us this morning!
Oh that, well, the truth is that I was late this morning, so then I panicked and dashed, and
thats why my thighs stiff.wait a sec, how did I get to the classroom before you guys when I
was the one that was late!?
He hid his nervousness with a cough and had been waiting for this moment. Takasu Ryuuji!
One step forward! Prepare to fire! 3, 2, 1.Fire!
O, ou, we were surrounded by some strange guys and,
Shut up, boy!
Instant death!
That was wella metaphor, but still, Ryuuji died. Carved in his chest were the letters, S, H,
O, C, K. He thought that he had seen the afterlife. He was told to shut up. That always cheerful
and kind Minori bared her fangs at him and told him to shut up with a Miwa voice . She hates
him The spark of life was disappearing from Ryuujis face. His soul was rising up to heaven.
Witnessing this while still latching on to Minori, Taiga let out a Pfffft! stifled laugh.
The one that was in a flurry was Minori.
Ooh!? Did I just say something!? Was it.my gag (choice)!? I messed up (I think)! I
screwed up!? Oh no (sorry)! Forget it (pretty please)! Aaaah..if only.I wasnt such an
idiot.ah?
While trembling, she sung, tensed her face, and then suddenly said,

No, wait a sec!? This might be a good thing!?

Flash.! Her face lit up and she left the past behind her.
See! Because I made such a mistake, I must show that I am repentant! Yes, yes, thats right,
thanks to this mistake I made, see! Ah! How lucky I am! Because I can use the favorite item that
Im carrying around fair and square in this very way! This is too lucky!
Taiga was pushed off and fell onto the floor. Ignoring her, Minori took out a bald wig from her
bag. Then, she put it on.
See! See how lucky this is! Yes, Im swoo lucky! I wuz able to put this on naturally! Im swoo
fwortunate I cant belieeeeeeeeve it uwaaaaan!
She cried.
Wearing the bald wig, she fell down onto the floor, coat still on, threw aside her back, and
suddenly cried manly tears, yelling, uoooooooooooon, Im dwone for! and such.
MiMinorin!? Whats wrong!?
Hey, Kushieda! Anyway, get up, the floors dirty!
Not only Taiga and Ryuuji, but even the mob gathered around, murmuring, did Kushieda go
nuts again.
Yo, Takasu! Oh, hey, Tiger, long time no see, Tiger! Kushieda, what are you doing?
Whoah, its Tiger! How are you!? Did Kushieda break apart again?
Noto and Haruta also came over and patted Ryuuji on the shoulder, while looking down at the
mad Minori.
I really should have my hair shaved, said Minori as she crouched on the cold floor and held
her head. She finally lifted her head up, sniffed, and screamed out in abandon while her face
was still a seriously tear-ridden mess.
Ah, Im glad I had the bald wig with me! Ill be making good use of this for a while!
There she was still wearing the bald wig, for a while. For the duration of her flowery high
school life, her limited youth.
Not knowing in what way and exactly how he should be playing the straight man, Ryuuji was
dumbfounded and speechless. Taiga, in her own way, was shaken apparently and jutted her jaw
out, producing sounds like au, au~. The best she could do was murmur, stop.
No, no, noactually
Making a strangely feebly decrepit voice, Minori sniffled, knit her brows, and twirled her finger
on the bald wig. To Ryuuji, that gesture was kind of cu-.no, cute.it was not. He wanted her
to stop wearing the bald wig at least.
Actually see, I, yesterday, in a softball match, made an unbelievably, fatally stupid mistake,
and because of that, we lost to a team we should have been able to win against..miserably.
Judging from the length of the long siiiiigh, it was easy to understand the depth of her
melancholy.
So anyway, Im actually in a very bad, bad state. I brooded about it yesterday, and ended up
almost not getting any sleep at all.ugh, cough, coughIm starting to lose my voice
forgive me, it was the day that Taiga returned to school too.I wanted to organize an event, but
Id only cause trouble because of my health.cough, cough! Gasp, its bloooood~!
Neither Ryuuji nor Taiga could say anything to a suddenly elderly Minori. By the way, she
wasnt bleeding.
The usual Minori would have prepared some blood for the gag. Ryuuji looked at Minori
unsteadily walk back to her own seat and regretted that he couldnt say anything at all.
He couldnt say anything to Minori even though she was depressed. Then immediately after
that, he regretted that he even had that thought. What a self-centered way of thinking. Wasnt
he couldnt say anything regretting that he couldnt show the appeal of his own kindness to
Minori? His own, huh. Showing himself off was more important than a hurt Minori was it?
No, he really, for pure reasons, wanted to cheer up Minori, but no matter how much he told
himself that, ultimately, it was probably just that. It was probably that he couldnt impose himself
on Minori while she was down. And thinking such thoughts gloomily for three seconds round
and round, Ryuuji sighed. He was the same as Taiga. He was trapped by the idea that it wasnt
fair to do anything just because the other persons weakened and couldnt move. In the end, he
turned into a cold-hearted bastard that couldnt do anything for the person he loved when she
needed cheering up.
This was over-thinking. Both him and Taiga. Two of a kind non-acting thinkers. No, no, this

isnt good enough.

Scratching his head and rubbing his eyes, Ryuuji stretched his back and was ready to act. Who
cares if it isnt fair, so what if its taking advantage of her when shes weak, so what if it is a bald
wig? The trembling in his heart was real.
He walked over to Minoris seat and casually went into action.
Ah
Because. Itll get sweaty.
He removed her bald wig.
No matter what unconscious motives were hidden inside his own actions, he still wanted to tell
her that he was worried about her. He felt that he should tell her just that. For now, he
pretended not to notice the parts about showing off, or taking advantage of, or being unfair.
But, he didnt want to feel regret for overlooking someone elses wounds, ever again. He walked
over to her because that feeling was inside him.
Minori, for one moment, looked up at Ryuuji as if looking at a terribly bright object and blinked.
Their eyes met, he thought.
Ryuuji hid his nervousness and tried to awkwardly smile.
Then Minori averted her eyes away from Ryuuji. She took back the bald wig from Ryuuji
without looking at his face, and with a laugh, said, Hehehe, dats right. Dont have to wear da
wig. She smiled, and without changing her expression, closed her mouth. He noticed the oddness
of this for one slight moment, but then,
Aaaaaaaaaaisaaaaaakaaaaaaaa!
He virtually jumped up because of the echoing scream. When he looked back,
Oh, Aisaka! Youre finally able to come back to school, eh. Congratulations! How long the two
weeks you were away were its been extremely dull, I mean it!
The new Student President, Kitamura Yuusaku, was face flat on the floor. Basically, he was
lying, at attention, on the floor. This was his best friend? Ryuuji became slightly dizzied by the
sight.
Aaaaaaa Ki-ki-ki-ki-kitamura-kun, good mor-mor-mor-morning.
Taiga rigidly gestured with her right hand in the direction of the floor.
Good morning! Oh, its been a while since weve greeted each other like this! I am moved
beyond words!
Kitamura, still flat on the floor, lifted up his refreshing smile with the nape of his neck. Then, he
also became aware of Ryuujis presence.
Oh, good morning Takasu!
Why!?
Because its morning isnt it!
No! Why that pose!?
A kneeling bow isnt enough! A kneeling bow isnt good enough to show how I feel towards
Aisaka! Hey, Aisaka. Im sorry I caused you to get suspended, something that could ruin your
life. And, thank you. After that big embarrassment, I thought I couldnt take being in this school.
But, thanks to you, Aisaka, Im still here. Ive.started my Student President responsibilities
without problems.
Flat on the floor, Kitamura looked up at Taiga directly with a gentle smile and beaming lenscovered eyes.
If theres anything I can do, I will do anything. So please, dont ever fight again. For anyones
sake either. No matter how right you may be. If theres something you cant forgive, first, talk to
me.
Then Taiga,
Aaaan.
Fainted.
Ou! Hang in there Taiga! Its only a flesh wound!
Ryuuji hastily caught Taiga from behind and hit her cheeks. Kitamuras loyalty was too
powerful. He confirmed slight movement from her eyelashes as she moaned, Ugh, ugh. Okay,
shes alive.
Breathe slowly.thats right.relax.
Suhaaa..suuhaa
Ryuuji sat with one knee up to support Taiga and desperately rubbed her shoulders to get her

back to her senses. And then it happened.

!?
He felt stares at his back for sure. Not one, but multiple. He turned around like a killer
attempting to hunt all the life forms on the Earth singlehandedly, but

There was only a string of multiple cases of silence, multiple occiputs, and multiple backs.
Whaat, just his imagination! Of course not. Ryuujis brows furrowed. What is this?
Almost everyone in the class simultaneously became silent and faced directions away from
Ryuuji, Taiga, and Kitamura. There was no way this could be normal. Even Noto and Harutas
eyes were wandering the other way. Without saying anything at all either.
This was.b-u-l-l-y-i-n-g At almost the same the time those ghastly letters floated in his
mind, a far too care-free Kitamura said,
So, anyway, Ive started the Great Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts service!
Bang! This time, Taiga fell off of Ryuujis lap from this incomprehensible situation. Had this
been news that Ryuuji had heard the first time, he would have liked to fall over with Taiga. But
that wasnt the case Yes, Kitamura had begun it. The Great Illuminator Deity. It was too idiotic
and not so easy to explain to Taiga while she was suspended, so he put it off until today. But just
at that time, someone knocked on the door of the classroom.
Um, excuse me..is the Great Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts
Hi! Over here, over here!
Kitamura smoothly got up from the floor and energetically gestured to the girl an
underclassman probably that was peeking at the pre-homeroom classroom from the entrance.
The girl fidgeted while walking towards him. While looking at the girls back, Taiga was in a
virtual panic.
Begun.the Great Illuminator Deity..service? Its not as if hes selling cold-served Chinese
food, andand, what the, what the!? That biiiiiitch! The nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nerve of her!
Trembling, Taiga bared her fangs and even now was dripping blood red murderous intent from
her eyes like she were going to eat that girl, but. Whoops! Must stop, must stop, be a good girl,
be a good girl, she said, head shaking frantically, and bit her lips. Only her eyes didnt
separate themselves from their two figures.
The girl, whose life was unknowingly spared saved thanks to Good Girl Week, reverently
drooped her head in front of Kitamura and said, .I dont have the courage to confess.
Please help. Then Kitamura, the Great Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts, replied,
Hm, hmits fine, your prayers will be answered as long as you believe! Go forth without
doubting yourself!
But.I dont have any confidence in myselfIm not pretty either
Dont think! Go to a Soap!
Soa.? What?
Dont think too much.
Then, Kitamura chanted some mumbo jumbo over her head and bowed. The girl also bowed
and left. Haa? Taiga said, slanting her neck so much that her face turned. She could not
comprehend the situation at all
Thats right. A lot had happened in school while Taiga was suspended.
What is this, Ryuuji, whats
.The truth is, ever since the big confession, Kitamuras turned into the sect founder of love
within the school or more like, hes turned into an object of worship for those people that have
someone they want to confess to
Oh, really?! exclaimed Taiga in surprise, but immediately after,
But he was turned down!
How true. Coming from Taiga, the mechanisms of her petite brain did their job quite well,
remarkably.
Thats the reason why. Like Kitamura will be taking all the bad stuff.
In other words, its evil spirit exorcism.
Noto popped his head out and followed up with the rest of the explanation.
Well, its also because the previous Student President had too strong a personality you know?
This also carries the meaning of adding flavor to the new Student Council, and thats why hes
going out of his way to promote the Great Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts. This was the

second person this morning. After schools just wow; they actually make lines at the Student
Council. The Student Councils getting carried away too and theyve got a shrine at the entrance,
like theyre really going to do the Great Illuminator Deity act.
Really!? So thats what it was about, I didnt know! Isnt Kitamura amazing~!?
The one that had spoken up was Haruta, who was then given a cold chide of, May I ask you
what of Kitamura youve been looking at the whole time? from Noto. Completely ignoring
Haruta, Taiga quietly looked at the returning Great Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts with a
hard-to-read expression. Looking at the side of her face,
Shall we try it?
After Ryuuji whispered this, she nodded slightly with a Yeah, and Taiga and Ryuuji both
discreetly put their hands together in prayer. They lowered their heads slightly to the Great
Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts. What they were thinking was, of course
What, what, you guys too? Is there somebody you want to confess to?
Ou, you found out. .No, but somehow it felt like the thing to do.
.Same. Somehow or another.
All right! Go to a Soap!
Dont think sothought Ryuuji as he averted his eyes slightly, whereas Taiga lightly
scratched the area under her nose. Noto, comparing their two faces, then suddenly said,
You know, Tiger, youre awfully quiet today? Youre keeping a low profile because its the
first day back from suspension, something like that?
To that question, which he asked carefully while keeping a tab on the distance, she replied,
Ah, you noticed? Thats right, Im, being a good girl.
Eh he! laughed Taiga, with generous sweetness to the likes of Noto. Noto as well, either
surprised or scared, jolted grandly, knocking his glasses askew.
See, Ive decided to be a good girl since its almost Christmas. Because, see, Santas watching
doee!
Then, adorable Taiga was sent flying forward. She plowed down desks and chairs, taking with
her several others including Noto and tumbled onto the floor exposing her tights-covered butt.
Kyaahahahahaha Are you stupid~!? Santa! You said Santa! To think Id hear you say that~!
It doesnt, fit, you! Kyahahahahaha ! Oh yeah, it has been a while hasnt it~! Suspended! That
kills me~!
He knew who it was without having to look.
The name of the beautiful girl that knocked Taigas butt with her bag and laughed loudly while
brushing upwards her silky hair was Kawashima Ami. The undisputed, perfect, super beauty.
Despite having the shapely, well-proportioned figure of a model, despite overly perfect features
properly settling in at the perfect positions on her small face, and despite radiating the brilliant
and smooth aura of a jewel from everywhere while walking towards Taiga, Ami was an
overwhelming social miscreant. To Taiga, the sole owner of the title of the most vicious and
strongest being in the school, she could indeed be said to be her archenemy. If she was knocked
away on the butt by that Ami, naturally, it should be Taigas turn to pay her back. But.
..Long time no see, Stupichi
Ooh?
Taiga, who had been sent flying and knocking over desks, however, got up and greeted Ami. It
was too much to expect her to smile, but even so, she waved her hand amicably. But from her
sleeves, the tip of a sharp knife was! No, that didnt happen. But between her fingers, a poison
needle was! No, that didnt happen. In her pointe shoes, a frog was! No. From above, a metal
basin was! No.
Taiga remained elegant and graceful.
Stupichi, its almost Christmas. If you still keep being a bad Chihuahua, Santa wont be coming
to see you. See, Ill make a concession. Ill take that blow as a greeting and forget about it. So, lets
stop fighting until Christmas is over. I, love Christmas. I dont want to fight over something stupid
in this once-in-a-year wonderful season.
Kyaa!
With one hand held by Taiga, Ami shrieked. Quite a reaction. Ami desperately knocked off
Taigas extended hand. She looked at her right hand, screaming as if it were decaying, shook it
violently, and then finally opened her eyes like something would come spilling out.
You, there is so something wrong with you! Did something happen while you were

suspended!? Youre abnormal, abnormal, abnormal, youre strange! Ah, maybe thats it!? Youre
going to die tomorrow!? Ugh, how awful~!
Youre saying the same thing Ryuuji didWhy does everyone say Im sick, that Im dying,
when I decide that Ill be a good girl. I dont understand at all. Its almost Christmas. Stupichi, I
think its a good idea to change your ways. Because Santa, see, will be in Japans skies soo-
Nooooooooo!
Amis serious scream rumbled throughout the classroom. Also, while she was at it, it climaxed at
the Oeee! vomiting kind of sound.
What, Santa, are you for real!? Gross, gross, gross, gross, actually, kyaah, I got it! Youve got
your sights set on using this opportunity to get a personality makeover!? Uwaa, thats creepy, no,
stop shitting me, gargh! Theres no room for one more in the airhead or pure slots, dammit!
Actually, I was planning on saying Ami-chan, loves Christmas~ Ehehe, I believed in Santa up to
Junior High~ Isnt that stupid~ , but because of you, its all pointless, dammit, how are you
going to take responsibility for this, bitch!? Aaah!? Dammit, this is freaking me out. You made me
dilate my pupils, you idiot!
Not giving the time of the day to the several boys clinging to her highness legs Its okay; We
like that fake pureness of Ami-chan; We love Ami-chans real, occasionally overflowing, ferocious
feelings; Whip me, hang me, tie me, turn my life into a mess she said,
Hah! .Oh. Ami-chans figured it out!
Ami suddenly raised her face and gulped. Then, continued,
Youre on speed
Thats it, thats it, its speed, its speed! Oh no, thats totally frea~ky! It has to be that! Gasp, eek,
oh no! My heavens~!
She apparently satisfied herself with her own theory. She wriggled her body, moistened her
large eyes, put both hands to her cheeks, and META FUSED her cutie pie iron mask! It was a facial
transformation, as expected of a pro, with more years of seasoning than Taigas good girl.
Quit it! Of course not. Ah, wait, Stupichi!
As such, anyway, Ami-chan will inspect your belongings Youre, totally, totally, suspicious.
Lets see, lets see
Ami picked up Taigas bag from the floor and opened it all the way, hard. However, for a joke,
the way her hands were moving were too rough, and,
Oh dear, whoopsidoo!
Ah! What are you doing Stupichi! Why you, Ill k-I wont kill you.
Everything in Taigas bag became scattered on the floor. Ami panicked, then squatted on the
floor and began picking up the mess. Ryuuji couldnt prevent himself from not helping upon
seeing this horrible mess.
What the hell are you doing? So to get to the point, youre happy that Taiga, your quarrel
partner, is back at school, arent you? Be honest.
Oh, Takasu-kun, good-mor-ning Stop with the gross jokes, Ill-kill-you By the way, could you
pick that up ~?
With the smile of an angel, Ami forced Ryuuji to fetch a pen that had rolled all the way against
the wall. Then, with the bag back in its original state, she passed it back to Taiga, then added,
Ah, this one too. Ill put this here.
To finish things off, Ami slipped Taigas student handbook in the back pocket of the bag. She
muttered, Good grief, but then forced a smile, saying to herself, Stop, stop, must be a good girl, a
good girl, and took the bag from Ami. Then, Amis hair was touched from behind.
MyI knew it, Ami-chan, really is kind
The one whispering this with a bit of a wry smile was Kashii Nanako, who had come to school
with her.
What~? What might you be talking about~? Ah, that reminds me, I brought that limited edition
lip gloss? Nanako, do you want to put it on? Oh thats right, thats right, Maya also said she wanted
to try it Lets go, lets go.
Ah, I want to try it, I want to try it! Maya, come on!
Kihara was gestured over by the two of them, however, on the way there, Hah? Kushieda, why
do you have the bald wig? Thats a riot! Dyou want to wear it? Dyo you want it? By the way,
why is your voice all nasally? Thats a riot! I just cried. Why did you cry? Thats a real riot!
She was having a lot of small laughs at Minoris seat on the way over. Tugging Mayas arm, the

usual trio moved to Amis seat. Clamoring nosily, the sweet, voices of the 2-C Official Beautiful Trio
echoed gorgeously, as usual, in the pre-homeroom classroom.

Chapter 2
.Then, when I asked my date, the Associated Professor, Where are you now?, he said, Im
in the caf at the station front. Then he said, Theres a file I have to read up on all of a sudden, so
could you push back the time were meeting? But, I was at that caf when he called.I thought
this was strange, and I asked him, I asked him casually, Did you get a good window seat? to
which he replied, Yes, I got one. He said, Im sitting in a good window seat, ah ha ha. But, at
that time, I was sitting in the only window seat
Oh ho. A strange lie from out of nowhere. Thats quite bad.
I thought that he was meeting some other woman, I mean wouldnt you? But, were not
officially dating, so I couldnt confront him. I thought he was a promising candidate, and the
fact is were both not young. He might have to terminate a few relationships before we could
formally begin dating each other, I thought. He said that he would be one hour late, so I didnt
think it was a good idea to hang around there.
I see, you didnt want him to know that you knew he was lying.
Yes. We hadnt even reached the point where we could argue with each other. So, for the
moment, I left the station-side building while it was raining. I could kill time browsing at a
bookstore or a clothing store for one hour, I thought. It was on that terribly cold Saturday
Yeah, it sure was a cold day. It didnt snow one bit either, just cold rain.
Yes. So, since my umbrella was small, my clothing and shoes got wet, and there I was, walking
and thinking, Oh what should I do~ And then, I found him!
Oh ho! Where was he and what was he doing?
He was playing with a pachinko slot machine!
Aaah
Low rumbling gathered inside 2-C. This dubious twist brought the hands of students eating
their lunch to an automatic stop.
This is quite the story. When he should have been reading files in a caf, he was playing
pachinko. Even when he was missing an appointment. Even when he was standing up the person
hes dating.
This was definitely a bit too muchI thought. Theres a limit to how much I can pretend to be
oblivious. I didnt want to hear excuses, I didnt want to hear lies either, so then I decided to wait
for him to exit the building at that spot.
You didnt storm the building?
I wouldnt do that, Im an adult. I simply stood in the rain. But he didnt leave the building. He
didnt leave the building even after one hour. I still stood there. With no roof cover. At 8:00 at
night. On the street. He didnt come out after another 30 minutes passed. Isnt he an hour late? I
thought. You dont have the decency to even call, I thought. No, in the first place, are pachinko
slot machines > me? I thought. But, the blackness inside me grew as big as the amount of
time I waited, and I was too frustrated and sad to return homeEven worse, it was cold, and I
was pitiful and miserable the colder it was, then I thought if he looked at how pitiful I was, he
might regret what he did
.Hmmm..Didnt you make a phone call or send an email?
I did. To a friend. Right now, Im crying because of what that Associated Professor was
putting me through, what should I do~? I said to her. Then, I realized something major
My hands are sweating with anticipation.
There is apparently no such thing as the occupation of Associated Professor.They call the
profession Associate Professor now. . Then I started wondering, Who the hell are you?
.Oh. So his whole story became fishy.
I havent been in contact with him since then. Then, the reason why everything turned weird
is, well, I discovered what it was. Mercury, you see, had been retrograding.
Ah.Mercury, you say.
Yes, Mercury! They say that when Mercury retrogrades, computers will break and plans will
get delayed! When it eventually moves normally again, ah, at the beginning of next year I think,
hell contact me again! Dont you think so? You think so, right!
Er.Hmmmm, well, that boyfriend is, to be honest.Isnt it a good idea to go see him the
next time?

If theres a next time, of course Ill go dammit!! But its not that! Its not that. A-n-y-w-a-y, I,
wanted to complain! Yes!
Ah, ah, uwaaa.if you strain yourself that much, youll hyperventi
But!? He came out from the pachinko parlor!? He saw me!? He wasnt surprised or nervous,
and the first thing that came out of that lousy sobs mouth was, You were following me werent
you!? So thats the kind of person you are! Youre scum! Its because you do things like this that
youre still single at this age! Excuse me, but I was the one that wanted to say that!? Youre the
one thats still playing bachelor upper-level occupation fraud at your age! What you say! pant,
pant. Shimura. Aaaaa.. uuuuu~oooooooo.
Well then, having gotten to the point of the story, I sure hope Mercury does turn direct soon.
Thats it for today, thank you very much. Here, take these tissues. You still have classes in the
afternoon. You should wipe off your tears and fix your makeup.uh, Radio Name B-rette (30)san
Y-chan.
Excuse me. Y-chan (30). If you want help, please tell us your story on the Great Illuminator
Deity of Broken Hearts Restaurant corner. The Student Council is the cheer squad of your love.
.Now, well be playing Y-chan (30)s request, so listen up folks.
Powdeeeerrr~~~~~~~~snooooooww!
A somewhat nostalgic winter song flowed out from the speakers. Finally, somebody hit the nail
on the head.
What does Kitamura hope to accomplish by making our homeroom teacher cry
Ever since Kitamura awakened as the Great Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts, the broadcast
room at lunch was occupied by the Student Council. What was ceaselessly leaking out from the
speakers was the Student Councils voluntary school broadcast, the Cheer Squad of Your Love.
Procuring them from somewhere, students would be subjected to love counseling anonymously,
Kitamura would suddenly go running off on his experiences, and today, on the matter of lack of
romantic relationships, they succeeded in summoning the friendly neighborhood 2-C homeroom
teacher, K.gakubo Y.ri (30 D-shin) as a corner guest. The pain grade of the show increased daily.
As if to agree with that,
.Lets pretend we didnt know that was Yuri-chan.
.Yeah.
Thus the boys and girls at this delicate period of their lives grew steadily into adults.
Meanwhile,
Hey, hey, Ryuuji.Dont you think the master tape for this broadcast is saved somewhere? If
we know where it is, we can sneak inside at night, take it, and edit the Kitamura-kun parts.and
then every night, before I sleep.n, fu-..
There also was somebody whose large eyes were lit with fiery desire, nose flaring with harsh
breathing, and was hugging her own body and raising her body temperature to steaming.
Opposite to her and opening his boxed lunch, Ryuuji cried out, Its out, its out. He wasnt smiling
at the new power he developed Its out, its out, cursed, poisonous smoke is gushing out from my
eyes. He was rolling his eyes at the emergence of a ridiculous idea from the person in front of
him.
Werent you supposed to be a good girl until Christmas? I cant believe youre thinking about
stealing .Your eyes are black with self-interest.
Oh my, what an awful thing to say.
Taiga clasped her two hands before her chest and leisurely brought down her long eyelashes.
If I really think about it, I believe the one at fault here is Ryuuji for not telling me about this
wonderful lunch hour broadcast and not recording it.
.If I told you, youd want to listen to it. Id look like a moron if I recorded this in class. Hey, I
was trying to be considerate since itd actually be cruel to tell you while you were on suspension.
Oh, no, no, you dont understand at all, Ryuuji. Your way of being considerate is totally, and
completely, missing the point. That habit of yours is self-satisfaction like the type you get after
doing something good and complete self-righteousness. Your personality, is like an old man thats
pouring sugar on top of a slug then in the time that hes watching it melt, the sun comes down,
but he still goes, it was a good day, wasnt it! While Im at it, even your mug is missing the point;
and its a Yakuza mug with your canine spirit showing. But in spite of your faults, Ryuuji, the
current me wont hold that against you. I wont hit you or kick you. I wont throw you, strangle

you, or drop you on the ground either. I wont say youre worthless. Arent you amazed by this
good girl demonstration? Ehee.
Thats more than enough, so cut it out!
Ryuuji sadly dropped his chopsticks. My personalitys like sugar on a slug! Aaaaah! thought
Ryuuji, but ignoring him, Taiga puffed up her hair with a small sigh.
It really is too bad though. Well. breaking in and stealing it is certainly iffy, isnt it? But, all
I wanted to do was somehow get possession of Kitamura-kuns beautiful voice that I had missed
out on while I was suspended, edit it as much as I please, customize here and there to fit my
tastes, and fill both of my ears with a Kitamura-kun voice that belongs only to me
Then, there was a pat on Taigas shoulder.
Tiger, if you want, I could give this to you?
Thinking that this very embarrassing conversation was overheard, Taiga flipped around.
Ryuuji was also quite surprised. The ones who talked to Taiga were girls that normally didnt talk
to her. They handed out one ROM to Taiga.
Im in the broadcast committee. I was asked by Maruo, so Ive been recording the lunch hour
broadcasts everyday. This has all the broadcasts up to yesterday, and if you like, Ill give it to you.
Ryuuji and Taiga looked at each other automatically and stopped thinking for several seconds.
Eh, wha, wha..eh? Wh, why.?
The answer to the question that finally came out from Taigas mouth was simple.
Well, I kind of, by coincidence, just heard you saying you wanted to hear it. And, I just
happened to have a spare backup ROM with me. Right?
Oh yes, right, right. We also recorded todays of course, and we plan on continuing, so if you
want, Ill make a copy. Its interesting. Its really funny too.
The ROM was pushed into Taiga s small, hesitant, shaking hand with a Here. Taigas cheeks
turned red, and she stood up, knocking over her chair in a panic with her legs.
Um, um, um,
She looked back to Ryuuji for only a moment as if to ask him what to do. Prodded by Ryuujis
hand which seemed to be saying, go on,
Ththank you.
Fidgeting, Taiga finally managed to quietly whisper this while blushing greatly. The girls
laughed, and waving their hands, they said,
Dont worry about it. Think of it as a gift to celebrate the end of your suspension.
Yeah, yeah. Schools dull without Tiger around. Im glad youre back.
They returned to their own seats where their boxed lunches were opened. Taiga was frozen
still for a short time then abruptly nodded as if she came to a decision on something. She took out
a box of sweets from the inside of her desk, caught up with the girls, and held it out to them.
n!
She said.
Aah, thank you! This tastes good, doesnt it?
I like this too! Ill take one.
Flaring her nostrils, she returned to Ryuujis seat and then jumped at the desk with an Nfa!
grunt. While hugging the ROM and closing both eyes, her face became completely red with even
the back of her neck turning a hot cherry pink.
D-d-did you see that just now!? Is it really okay for me to be this lucky!? Im too happy!
While shouting with a small voice, she wildly stomped her feet up and down on Ryuujis from
under the desk. This was, by the way, not an attack, but something like how a delighted cat tries
to make her owner turn by poking him with her nose. Ryuuji couldnt help but smile.
Yeah, that was pretty lucky. Youre surprisingly loved by the girls, arent you? Maybe its a
blessing from the Great Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts? At any rate, you dont have to steal.
Yeah!
Taiga stuffed her mouth with lettuce chahan which was served with a nice helping of petite
tomatoes. Directly facing her, Ryuuji also stuffed his mouth with the same boxed lunch meal. The
quality, of course, was excellent as usual. It was made up of the acid taste of tomato and fresh
lettuce, a full serving of one egg for one person, and canned scallop eye as its trump card.
Accompanying it on the side, was a saut of zha cai, pepper, and chicken breast, as well as a salad
of special sesame-sprinkled cucumbers and seaweed, and for dessert, there was tangerine jelly.
Todays lunch was superb. Since it was the first day of the end of Taigas suspension, Ryuuji also

put a little energy into making it.

However, during this precious lunchtime, Minori was away from the classroom because of a
club meeting, and that one point alone was too much of a shame.
Yippy, yippy, yippy! Ehehe.
Taiga, munching on the chahan while frolicking in delight, had lit her eyes up like she was
happy to the bottom of her heart, so he figured hed look at her face to comfort the boredom.
Then,
I finally bought bread! Its too crowded at the school store!
Oh hey, the Kitamura radios on again today? Oh man, this songs way old.
Dont say that. Its our homeroom teachers selection.
Geh, thats kind of sad.
Noto and Haruta, the bread purchasers, pulled their chairs close to Ryuujis desk. With two
desks, three guys, and a little one sticking to the edge by herself, it was extremely cramped, but
this was, in its own way, a fun moment in the day.
Powdeeeerrr~~~~~~~~snooooooww! finally ended, and once again, Kitamuras slightly
artificial facetious voice began to stream from the speakers.
Well then, todays high temperature is 8 degrees and low is 3 degrees. Were in the middle
of winter. The winds cold, the air is dry.Its frightening isnt it, influenza, accidental fires
Shaddup, Noto mocked while biting into his bread, and ahaha, laughed Ryuuji and Haruta.
Taiga strained her ears and extended her head out like a turtle to greedily listen to Kitamuras
voice.
Speaking of scary things, its almost time for the semester finals. Folks, hows your studying
coming along? By the way, I, the Great Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts, also would like to get
down to studying soon but.Ah ha! Things just wont go according to schedule.
What did he say~!?
Haruta suddenly shouted.
Isnt this broadcast irritating|!? Why does he have to start talking about exam studying!? Isnt
the title Cheer Squad of Love!?
Whoah, whoah, calm down. Why are you getting worked up? We cant hear the Great
Kitamura-senseis good broadcast, right Tiger? Are you okay? Can you hear it?
Noto turned to Taiga, and Taiga, creasing her brows, nodded. Noto and Taigas relationship was
kind of good, almost as if they were normal friends? Damn Noto, dont get full of yourself just
because Taigas in her Christmas mode.er, no, he musnt think like that. Ryuujis eyes flashed
manically as if to say oh, what a heartwarming scene, but Haruta stubbornly continued to shake
his head with a Naw, naw. In spite of laughing just a little earlier, he violently bit off a portion of
his yakisoba bread, annoyingly swung his long hair, and said,
I dont want to hear about studying! Dont you feel the same too Noto!? Takacchans the same
right!? Tiger, you too!? Hey, I, hate studying! It might be surprising to you, but honestly, I dont
want to study for even a second!
Ou! You spit blue seaweed on my desk I have to take out my antibacterial wet tissues.
This isnt the time to be wiping blue seaweed, Takacchan! Stop it! By the way, whats up with
you Tiger!?
Harutas anger was abruptly directed at Taiga. Under normal circumstances, Haruta would be
sent to the gallows, die in 2 seconds, go to heaven in 5, then reincarnate 10 seconds after, and be
wailing, Ogyaa! in a new world. However, the pre-Christmas Taiga, somewhat miserably
replied,
What is wrong with me
She simply looked up at the long haired idiot. The person in this world that should be thankful
to Santa the most is without a doubt Haruta, Ryuuji thought. Then, that idiot got more carried
away, pointed his finger at Taiga, showed his teeth with blue seaweed sticking all over,
So, I had just bought bread, and the Head of our Year shouted, You, the idiot over there! and
stopped me, and out of nowhere, I got scolded by him to do exam studying since Im the guy thats
closest to being held back in our grade! So I went, But Tigers on suspension! Shes in more
trouble than me! but then he scolded at me some more and said, Youre in far more trouble than
her you idiot! You are the Idiot King! Pfffft! Ah hahahahaha! Doesnt that make you crack
up!? Idiot King he said!
While a further solitary outburst of ahhahahahaha~! trailed off, Ryuuji asked Noto Really?

with his eyes. Noto replied back with a silent nod. What could Taiga be thinking as she continued
to silently look at that Haruta King? Soon, she quietly said,
.Please, let this idiot also have a happy Christmas
She laid her fingers on top of one another and sent her prayers to heaven. And, what
resounded inside that holy blessing wasnt the trumpeting of angels, but the Kyaha..!?
voice of Hayashiya Paako ? Nope, it was Harutas super sonic wave.
Whats wrong Tiger~!! Ah~ you have a really kind side, dont you! Ah~.oh oh, I dont really
understand, but just now I kind of bla-
Stab! Notos surprisingly sharp hand chop was thrust into Harutas neck in that instant. Haruta
dropped into his chair and his head fell. All right, nodded Noto, while Ryuuji took away the
yakisoba bread from Haruta and put it on the desk.
The two men gave each other the thumbs up sign. Taiga, not understanding what happened,
looked with blank eyes at Haruta, shut off from the forced power outage and rice crumbs still
sticking to the edges of his mouth. Then, she turned her face to Noto and said,
What was that just now? What was he trying to say?
Dont worry about it, girls neednt worry about it! Oh yeah, more importantly, shouldnt we
really start studying soon? Why dont we get together at the family restaurant? And Haruta,
especially, isnt going to be able to get into the next grade if we dont force him to study. Also, that
thing you have, Takasu. Id like a copy of that. Is it all right? You know, the Bro Notes.
Ah, ou, of course. Great stuff. Lets pass it along to the gang. .Ah, right, it isnt just mine.
You should ask Kushieda too.
The Bro Notes. The study notes for all the subjects, left behind by the previous Student
President and given to Ryuuji and Minori as the prize for winning the lucky man marathon at the
end-of-fall Cultural Festival. Ryuuji was holding on to them but the note books officially belonged
to the two of them. He hadnt entered the contest because he wanted them, but when he received
and opened them, he was surprised. The class and textbook information was there of course,
however, even more complicated information was written in a way unbelievably easy to
understand and summarized even more carefully than the study aids on sale in the market.
Seeing this, Ryuuji at last understood. The genius Bro that Kitamura had once been in love with
didnt slack off, she put in daily effort in order to further polish her god-given gift. She was the
real deal.
Thank you! Isnt that great Haruta! Right! Noto replied to Ryuujis pleasant answer, rocking
the shoulder of his friend. Haruta was still unconscious and Notos unnecessarily long arm
whacked him in the area around his thigh. Then, continuing, Noto turned his head and said,
But hey, Tiger, its great that your suspension ended while you can still take the semester
finals. The tests are next week too, and Taiga, of course, youll be studying with us right? See, well,
you know. ..Ill mention it to Kitamura too, so how about studying with us? Right? How about
we start tonight?
.!
Taigas eyes brightened from those words, and she then looked to Ryuuji. As if to say, Did you
hear that!? He most certainly did hear that. He most certainly heard that Noto said hell get
Kitamura to go to the study session. Taiga somehow suppressed her happy expression, but her
eyes sparkled, her cheeks swelled in pink, and she quietly answered, I do-do-do-dont mind, like
she was trying to suppress a smile. Noto laughed and then nodded.
Oh right, can we ask Minorin to come too!? The note books, theyre Minorins too! Right,
Ryuuji!
Taiga was so delighted that it seemed that shed almost hum, and said Right! as she peeked at
Ryuujis face. If people werent watching, he would answer Angel Taigas persistent supportive
efforts with a salute. .However, Ryuuji put that feeling aside and stared at the side of Notos
face, sensing that something was out of place.
.Hm? What is it, Takasu?
Nothing.
Huh? If I look real carefully at Takasus face, you look like this Joker card I have at home
.Ou. Im told that sometimes.
And Noto somehow looks like a pitiable jer..but thats not important. He thought there was
definitely something wrong with the way Noto was acting today. Just because Taiga was in her
Christmas only good girl version, just because its been a while since he last saw her, wasnt he

being too straight with Taiga? Then, suddenly inviting her to come over for a study sessionNo,
its not just that. There were several decisively strange points. Thats right, Noto for some reason
has been,
Ah, Minorin! Over here! Youre late! We already finished eating!
!?
He popped.
Ryuujis mind was instantly blown away. The pieces of his scattered ego were drawn together
by the figure of one girl and finally reformed themselves into a human shape. A stupid man, one
that lost all of his nearly-assembled thought processes and one that was in love, was being
reconstructed.
Sorry, the meeting dragged on!
She directed her smile at Taiga and strutted forth with a leap-like step. Minori alone rose up
with vivid colors and as a bright outline in the familiar, dull landscape. That figure, that voice,
that smell, swept away Ryuujis heart with tremendous power. Looking down, he acted like he
was cleaning out the remains of his boxed lunch. He turned away his eyes and pretended not to
notice Minoris arrival. He drank his Oolong tea in one gulp to replace what he wanted to say.
Minorin, did you have a boxed lunch too?
I bought bread!
Then, come over here and eat some snacks with me!
Okay, hee-haw!
When Taiga waved out the sweets box, Minori, smiling, was about to move her legs to come
here, however,
Um, Minorin, we were talking about it just now, but tonight, we..Minorin, why are you
moving away?
Hee-haw, hee-haw, the big thing on my crotch wont stay put, it be , hee-haw.
With an abnormally well-performed moonwalk, she gradually retreated. Ah, thats dirty talk!
Kushieda, youre vulgar! booed Noto. Ryuujis face twisted like a poisoned demon, his eyes
radiated terrifying lightning, and his fists trembled with the power of a man. A low-pitched voice
for finishing off a mortal enemy emerged from his lips. And you mixed Saigou Don in it. YES!
Ryuuji shouted with delight mentally. After a long hiatus, he succeeded in casually pulling off the
straight man response. However, Minori,
Hee-haw, hee-haw, it be, it be.
She didnt stop her laughing reverse moon surface walking. She went back further and further
with smooth movements which couldnt possibly be from someone with something sticking
between the legs. Even if she bumped into somebody and received a Hey, watch it!, even if her
rear hit someones desk, Minori did not stop. Just when Taiga, Noto, and Ryuuji were about to ask
together how far she was going,
By the way. The Christmas you folks have been waiting for is coming up after the painful
exams.
A Christmas song began to run as background music accompanying the voice of Kitamura.
Realizing this, Ryuuji watched Taigas face turn into a smile. Her beloved Kitamura began to talk
about her beloved Christmas. Of course shed have a pleasant smile.
We, the Student Council have an announcement. After the end of the end of semester
examinations, there will be a closing ceremony on the 24th, Christmas Eve. And after that, in the
gym, we will be holding a student-run Christmas party!
At that moment.
The lunch hour clamor came to a halt. Taigas mouth opened excitedly. Even Haruta regained
consciousness and opened his eyes.
This was.this was! Ryuuji stopped breathing. He instinctively exchanged glances with Taiga.
I dont have to be telling you couples this, but to you yes, you, the person that cant ask out
that certain someone youre interested in. Why dont you invite that special someone to this
occasion, this romantic holy night of Christmas Eve? We await your cooperation in launching the
Preparatory Committee. We also await your funds. The Student Council is the supporter of your
love.
Kyaaaaa~! .Two maidens were explosively born.
This was it. This is what he wanted! This project! Ryuuji and Taiga both lost control of
themselves and could no longer utter words. Raising their excited and shrilly voices, they did a

double high five, then shrieked again, nearly wrapping their arms around each other.
This way, Ryuuji can naturally ask Minori out. How about going with everybody? That will do
it. Theyll go to the party together, and the rest is up to the way the wind blew, and the
mood.No, Ryuuji was satisfied with simply enjoying Eve with Minori. Taiga doesnt have to be
unnecessarily worried about this and that being fair or not, and as long as she goes to the party,
she can meet Kitamura. It might be difficult for the two of them to be alone together, but at any
rate, she should be able to spend Eve with Kitamura.
And the ones that turned into hyperactive girls hadnt just been Ryuuji and Taiga. Its not like
Im going to have anything scheduled for Eve anyway! This might be pretty fun!? I hope we
can wear our own stuff! I wanna wear a cute dress! Several people soon began to announce
their participation. If its the already event-loving denizens of 2-C and the host is the head of 2-C,
the Great Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts, there was no way they couldnt get excited.
What a great mood.Ryuuji tenaciously goggled his reptilian eyes. No, he wasnt being
haunted by a snake one of his ancestors killed. His heart couldnt refrain from being happy. From
getting riled up with everyone, having a romantic party on the night of Eve..and then just
maybe, just maybe, really, really, being able to even confess his feelings to Minorin. If, if that
really happened, what answer would Minori give Lickings his lips chapped from tension and
suppressing his excitement, he was going to turn around in Minoris direction secretly. But,
Oh right, why dont you join the Preparatory Committee, Taiga?
Oh yeah, you did say you liked Christmas just a little while ago~
You fit the job description! You should do it, you should really do it!
Surprising voices began to come up from his surroundings. Join the Committee! laughed Noto
as well.
Taiga, surrounded by those voices, stood up nervously with her face completely red and
announced,
I-i-i-i-if everyones wants me to do it so badly, Im willing to do it! Fuhahahahaha!
She laughed loudly to cover her embarrassment. Then, she hmphed and for now, swaggered
back, then added,
You will join too, sugar slug dog!
She pointed at Ryuuji, however, her face was coming undone like it was melting. She can work
on the preparations for the Christmas party together with Kitamura, and not just that, but under
the natural pretense that she had to live up to the expectations of her classmates. Right now,
Taigas desire was about to be granted in perfect form. Of course that would make her face melt.
Then, the fingers of that face-melting Taiga pointed at Minori.
Minorin, you too! Lets do it together, together!
Kyaaaaa~~~~! Ryuuji was kicked into a whirl of even further delight. What a good girl Taiga is.
Shes an angel of love and a renowned producer. Shes the donut-haloed child of Christmas.
Ryuuji lifted his ogre face and turned to Minori. Lets do it! Together! Together! However,
Sorry. This time, Minorin passes, hee-haw.
Eh!? Why!?
The voice of Ryuujis mind synchronized with Taigas. The hee-haw hee-haw it-be it-be backstepping Minori closed her eyes obstinately and shook her head right and left.
Im not in the mood for Christmas parties. Seriousy. It aint really the time for me to be
festive.. that match, you know, I really, really, feel responsible for it. If Im getting bubbly
while this is happening to my team, I think I would be setting a bad example to them. Theres a
match at the turn of the year too, so we have to practice. Thats why, Ive gotta say sorry. Enjoy
yourself to your hearts content, Taiga.
No way In other words, she wasnt going to join the Preparatory Committee, and she wasnt
going to go to the party. Ryuuji couldnt speak from the shock. It was also partially because he got
too excited on his own and thus couldnt deal with the gap in tension. But then, at the moment
that the world nearly lost its color all at once, it happened.
Ou!
Ehehe In that case, how about I join in place of Minori-chan!?
Bang! The one that struck a sitting Ryuuji hard on the back and was half-way leaning over
him, was Ami, complete with a little whisper of, Whats up with that face? Taiga then instantly
contorted her face.
Geh, Stupichi!? No, no, dont come here, no hairy guys! Go away, go away, hair balls should do

as hair balls do and go back to their forest den!

Oh, oh~? Oh my, Tiger-chan, should you really be saying that? Werent you supposed to be a
good girl until Christmas~? Isnt Santa watching~?
Ugh
Putting her index finger to her lips shiny from gloss and giving her an up-from-under look, Ami
magnificently scored one point and silenced Taiga. Then, uttering, Ufu and her sweet smile
going into full bloom, she leisurely gazed down at the faces of her classmates with her bright,
sparkling, large eyes. She assumed control of the mood of the class with her unfair beauty,
drawing in the eyes of all those here by force.
Isnt this going to be fun!? Im definitely going! Having a Christmas party at school, thats too
awesome a plan coming from Yuusaku! I really love these kinds of ideas~! Lets rock the house
with 2-C power! Right, everyone!?
Yay! yelled somebody, and applause came about naturally. Im definitely, definitely, going!
Ill join the Committee too I cant believe I can spend Eve with Ami-chan! This is the peak of
my life! said the men as they shed tears here and there. Even the eyes of the girls sparkled
noisily and cheerfully as they were pointing and laughing at those same men.
She really is good at stuff like this Ryuuji looked up at Ami, practically astonished. Ami further
stirred up the enthusiasm of the class with her smile, put her arms around Taiga, saying, Lets do
it together~, and even kissed her on the cheek. Ogeh! Taiga said as she was pushing her
away, but because she was limited by her good girl restriction, she couldnt seriously reject her.
Oh~? What is with those eyes? You dont want to work with me, is that it?
Probably noticing Ryuuji watching, Ami raised one brow just a little bit while retaining her
smile and brightened her large eyes with delight. After looking around just a little at the people
who began to get ahead of themselves, she nestled up to him, and, with a quiet, low and nasty
tone in her voice,
Oh riiight. Takasu-kun prefers to be with a certain somebody and not me~
She blew that whisper into his ear. Ryuuji, naturally, got angry. Likewise, he countered, with a
small voice into her ears,
.Mo-ron, mo-ron, mo-ron!
He whispered back hotly, persistently, and hatefully. Despite the feebleness of this questionable
lexicon, this was the best counterattack he could muster against Ami. Ami shouted in surprise,
covered her ears, and attempted to get away. What an unexpected effect her ears were ticklish
apparently. Victory, snickered Ryuuji.
Heh, serves you right!
Oh, thats so mature!
Ami glared at him hatefully and sharply, but he didnt give a damn. Hell add a little dance on
top to mock her.
Dont push your luck because Tigers being strangely quiet! .You should know though,
Takasu-kun. I think its in your best interests to be nice to me.
Why?
Oh~? You don know? Projects like this are Ami-chans forte. It all depends on Ami-chan
whether it takes off or not. .What do you think some medicine from Ami-chan might do for
noisily stirring up and getting a certain someone thats gloomy from who knows what to
come
Ryuuji knit his brows. A smile formed on Amis lips. What was that smile supposed to mean?
And what was Amis intention?
But the only thing he understood was that what Ami was saying was a fact. The event, the
party, the project morale.these were all Amis super specialties. He didnt think that the most
black-hearted girl in the world, Kawashima Ami, would lend a hand in bringing his crush to
romantic fruition, but her sweet whisper went on.
Takasu-kun, you want to make the party a success right? I also want to make it a hit~. Im not
Tiger, but I really do like Christmas too. I dont have a boyfriend to spend it together with,
unfortunately, I dont have work either, and even if I go back home, my parents are busy. I want
to have fun, enjoy myself, and party with everyone at school~..really.
Ami laughed further. Brushing her hair up, her bottomless, moist eyes brightened.
And, that, is, why. Lets bust our butts on this, together, okay? .You had wanted to drop out
of this, right?

Ryuuji lifted his face. Then, Ami, with flinching momentum, nodded with an .Okay!
The answer was of course, yes. Yes, yes, yes. He hadnt wanted to bust his butt on this work. But
right now, it wasnt the time for him to be dead here. It wasnt the time for him to be trying to
figure out what Ami was thinking. For the moment, what he had to do was just act. The battle for
Minori and his happy Christmas had begun.
Ou! Lets do it! Together, Kawashima!
Aha Youre finally motivated
Ryuuji and Ami in perfect rhythm, high-fived each other amidst the cheering. Ah! Dont get
friendly with Ami-chan! No good, we have to do something about Takasu quickly. He could
feel a bucket load of resentful eyes on him, but right now, lets ignore that, lets ignore that. There
was only one thing he was thinking about. Please, please, get Minori into the festivities On this
once a year special day, on this day of battle where those in love are set ablaze, please light
Minoris heart on fire.
Minoris eyes were, however, still quiet and cold. She only looked expressionlessly at the face of
Ami, the focal point of the cheers of the classmates, and merely stood still. Seeing that, Ami smiled
even more gorgeously and beautifully at her, and strangely spoke to her slowly, under her
breath.
.Oh~? Whats the matter, Minori-chan? Just like I thought, you wanted to join? In that case,
Ill, welcome you, aaanytime?
I told you, I cant.
Rapidly retorting just that alone, Minori abruptly turned her eyes away. Ryuuji looked at the
side of Amis face at that moment. Thinking there was something unusual, he continued to watch
but didnt ask.
For a while, Ami quietly looked at the turned face of Minori. As if she was waiting for Minori to
say something.
On that day, several dozen people from each grade, a more than sufficient enough number of
people, were selected as candidates for the Preparatory Committee. Not only the festival-loving
people that agreed with the project, but the news of the announcement of Kawashima Amis
participation reaching the other classes was probably the reason for the explosive increase of
people.

Eh~, Ryuu-chan, are you studying for your finals~? With Taiga-chan~?
Yeah. At the usual family restaurant. Theres a salmon hamburger steak in the fry pan, so eat
it after you heat it up a little. Be careful to not burn the bean paste. The miso soup in the pot has
radish and tofu. And, theres leaf mustard in the fridge, so put it on the plate before you eat.
A~n, what a yummy meal~! But why not eat here if its already prepared ~
Im supposed to be having dinner with the other guys.
Oh, then, Yacchans all alone~
His real mother let out a sad funya~ from behind him, but he put his arms into the sleeves of his
down jacket as if to shake off the guilt. He lied to Yasuko. The other guys were actually going to
arrive after they finished eating at home. It wasnt necessary to go out of his way to have dinner
at the family restaurant. But Ryuuji had a reason for wanting to get there in advance no matter
what, even if it meant wasting money on eating out, even if it meant lying to his mother, the one
making that same money.
He threw his study set into his sailcloth tote bag, and careful not to forget about it also threw
the Bro Note bundle into it, then checked the contents of his wallet. He already put his mobile
phone and key in the back pocket of his Denim pants. He wrapped around himself his muffler,
which had escaped the fate of being stolen by Taiga, and while thinking a little on whether he
should put on his knit cap,
Aw~. Yacchans giza sad, Gansu.

He dropped it. He looked back.

Inside the chilly Takasu family 2DK (theres a heater, but its not on, since the kotatsu is), silence
was piling up like snow. What the hell was that His real mother was lying down on the floor,
inside the kotatsu up to her shoulders, and weakly melting. She laughed at her son with an
Ehe~ gaze.
Ryuu-chan, you dont know about it? Its the new fad~ The newcomer at work taught it to me~,

the youngsters are talking like this, Kasu! Its like so giza cute, Gasho! Its the giganto new thing,
Gansho! Ehehe~ Then, Yacchan thought that if she can get caught up with new trends, shell be
like so gizagiza smart ~ De Yansu, Gansho~nu!
.Thats enough! Stop! There is something terribly wrong with this!
Feeling like he wanted to seal his ears, Ryuuji screamed hysterically. The wounds his mind bore
were deep. First, fundamentally and decisively, Yasuko was wrong in a lot of ways. Now what do
you think of the stupidity of his real mother? The act of reporting happily to her son, This is in
fashion, reeked of old woman! At one point he had believed that his mother was young, too
young, or better yet, childish, but just as he thought, his mother was very much an old woman.
Oh, the burden of this truth he was faced with! A famous poem in his Japanese textbook, When, I
picked up my mother screwing around, I realized her old age in her lightness and was hit by
shock, looped in his mind
Unaware of the injuries of her son, Yasuko sharpened her lips on the cushion and in the
kotatsu, with not a care in the world
Eh~? Im not wrong, Kansu, this is so giza right isnt it, Gesuyo~. This is terra correct, De
Yansu~
With no make up on and wearing her Uniqlo dressing gown, she snorted haughtily. Alas, that
action resulted in showing even further the data file corruption of her face. It was at this time,
and only this time, that Ryuuji thanked God for having him inherit only his fathers genes.
Seriously, thank God he didnt inherit Yasukos slippery structural imitation of a brain. He never
met his father, didnt know whether he was dead or alive, and couldnt begin to imagine how
smart he was, but at the very least it looked like he was the owner of deeper brows and more
concentrated neurotransmitters than Yasuko. He wondered how much chaos the Takasu family
would be in now if they were both in the Slippery giza brain yansu kasu~ state. Just
imagining it was scary.
.Inko-chan. Take care of Yasuko. Youre the only one I can trust.
He gently talked to his pet, Inko-chan, the ugly parakeet standing inside the birdcage with its
wings folded in. After doing so, Inko-chans closed and trashy eyelids twitched. From the edge of
its diseased colored half-opened beak, foam fell. Slurping the foam with its tongue up and down
its beak slowly and leaving behind sticky threads, it uttered one word.
Cant.
Then with a whiff, it popped the whites of its eyes, braced its chapped, branch-like legs to the
point of shaking, and turned its back to its master. While it was at it, poop plopped out of it.
Ou! What disobedience.!
Inko-chans sad too, Kasu, so hes sulking~, right~ Inko-chan Gyah~
Inko-chan bit and pulled lightly on the skin of Yasukos finger, then spit it out with a Peh! This
was terrible disobedience. By reflex, Ryuuji hardened his face to be as rough as the Laiguille
Creuse and raised his voice.
Whats wrong Inko-chan! Where has my obedient and lovable Inko-chan gone!?
Ah I know whats bothering him~! Ryuu-chan, its that~!
What Yasuko was pointing at was the cook book he borrowed from the library, The special
treats of Christmas. On its cover, was TA-DAH, an outstanding, barbequed chicken! In large red
letters, Lets throw ourselves around a whole bird! He hastily jumped over to the book and
threw it under the cushion. Then,
Im sorry, Inko-chan. That was insensitive of me. I promise you, I wont make something
like TA-DAH, its chicken! in here, ever.
He sat on his heels facing the bird cage and bowed his head. Yasuko, following suit, lowered her
head with a Sowwy . Inko-chans dirty eyes flickered towards its mother and son masters.
.Really!?
Really.
You promise!?
I promise.
The popped pupils of the beak-shaking Inko-chan reflected the sharp, near-critical-mass light
coming from its owners eyes. Hair follicles were opening on the bald, bird skin exposed portion at
the top of its head. But, just at the moment when the rift in the relationship between pet and
master was about to be mended,
How regrettable! This is, a very, regrettable sight..!

Taiga had entered the living room before they had realized it and expressed her regret on
witnessing the kneeling of mother and son towards the bird cage. She probably came up since
Ryuuji wasnt coming down, even though they were supposed to be meeting in front of the
apartment. He was sure that Taiga had a lot more to say, but since she was still in the middle of
her good girl term, this was as far as she would go.
Ah~Taiga-chan! So youre going out to study~? Break a
gira leg, De Yansu~
Ya, Yacchan!? W..whwh, why are you,
Yasuko tightened her lips, and began slowly wriggling her
arms. Her son began to think. Was this supposed to be a
Sankai Juku dance troupe act? No, this had to be an octopus
imitation. She was happily mumbling, Squiid, but this was
definitely an octopus dance.
Regretttaaaabbllle
Holding her forehead with her hand, Taiga closed her
eyes as if she were fighting off dizziness.
The sun completely fell and the midwinter night air
became chillingly cold. The sole saving grace of this night
was the fact that no wind was blowing. All the people on the
street had their coat collars up and walked quickly with
scowls. A conversation other than Its cold! and
Uooooooo! couldnt even be passed between Ryuuji and
Taiga as well, and as if competing against each other, they trotted down the asphalt street for
almost 10 minutes.
Uwa~! It was so cold~!
Haa~! Its warm~! .Wait, its damn hot. The heaters way too powerful.
As if they were leaping in, they had pushed open the bright glass door.
They were in the familiar highway-side family restaurant. Ryuuji took one step inside and felt
like he was suffocating from the hot air of the heater. Groaning uwaaa and fueee, Ryuuji tore
off his knit cap, while Taiga removed her colorful and fluffy mohair cap. Her long, lightly-colored
hair fell softly, and the two of them finally caught a warm breath.
They told the waitress that came to greet them that friends would be joining them later and for
the moment got a window seat for four. Ryuuji looked around the restaurant and then asked the
waitress,
Um, excuse me. Is Kushieda-san working in todays shift? Um..were, her friends at school.
Kushieda is off today. When you have decided what your order will be, please press the
button.
Ryuuji stiffened from this plain answer. Shes off? Thats impossible. Taiga also knit her brows
and said,
I cant believe it, thats weird, I was sure shed be hereshes always working here on
Monday nights. Is she off only for today?
I knew it, we should have checked for sure before this..Ah, damn, what a screw-up.
Taiga invited Minori to come to todays study session, but Minori refused, saying, I have work
after my clubs over. She even added that shell ask for the note books when she needs them, so
Ryuuji could use them however he pleased in the meantime. Because of these circumstances,
Ryuuji childishly went to the trouble of coming to this family restaurant, the place where she
should have been working today. However, he struck out perfectly.
Theres something weird going on. Lets ask her where shes working now.
Taiga, twisting her head, quickly took out her mobile phone, but Ryuuji extended his arm out
from the other side and stopped her.
.Dont worry about it. Just forget it. Wed be bothering her if we called her while she was
working, and she cant reply back even if we send her an email, right. We cant do anything
about it today. Its our own fault for not making sure she was here. And, this might be heaven
telling us to study. .Lets eat already, give up on this, and study. Heres the menu.
Hm.
Taiga took off her coat, opened the menu, but a part of her seemed to be half-distracted and

thinking about something else. When he flicked the corner of the menu with his finger, Taiga
finally began to look at the letters.
Ill have a winter vegetable beef curry. What about you?
Ill take a pumpkin doria. And the drink bar option.
They called the waitress with the button, finished ordering, went together to the drink bar, and
picked up their drinks. There was some time before what they ordered would come, so he thought
about taking a look at a textbook. But when he was just about to open it,
.Hey, Ryuuji. I was thinking about it, but.
Taiga mumbled awkwardly. What, he wondered as he raised his eyes and put his mouth to the
coffee.
Youre not being avoided by Minorin are you?
Clang. The coffee cup noisily missed the plate. Not only that, some of the hot liquid inside landed
on his hand, and his elbow, which reeled back in surprise, hit the wall hard. So painful and
numbing that he couldnt speak, Ryuuji hung his head down on reflex.
AaahI knew it, I shouldnt have said anything.
..No! Youre going to tell me! Wh, why!?
Taigas eyes were pointed up like she was astonished, and she then spoke softly while twirling
her long hair with her fingertips.
Today, I was looking at you and Minorin as a set for the first time in a while, and I was
thinking. .Before I was suspended, the two of you were talking normally, but today, the
amount of conversation between you was zero.
.Its not as bad as zero. I talked to her. Properly. Several times.
That might as well be zero. Actually, there werent even any chances for you to have a real
conversation with her. Minorin definitely wouldnt come close if I tried to get her to come near
you. Ryuuji. She spent the whole time messing around and didnt really talk with us. She
wouldnt come even after I invited her here. Shes supposed to be working, but shes not here.
.Maybe, shes lying about working today.
Shes lying? Thats a little hard to swallow.
Minori would definitely not lie. She wasnt the person that would lie. Or at least, that was
what Ryuuji believed, but apparently Taiga didnt.
I dont know. Minorin isnt some stupid and cute girl, no. Even a fanatic like you should at
least know that the simple, bright, and funny girl personality isnt all there is to her, right?
That personalitys also one of Minorins good points, but.
Well, thats
Yeah. Now that she said it this way, Ryuuji also had to agree. Being called a fanatic didnt sit
well with him, but hed seen that other side to Minori many times, like for example, back at
summer vacation, when he was tricked by her.
.Thats true, but.
And, on top of that, she said she wont go to the Eve party or participate in the Committee. She
said she doesnt plan on coming. Thats not possible for the normal Minorin.
.No, but Kushieda said that shes not going because shes upset about the match. I really
cant believe shes lying. .Yeah, if you think Kushiedas acting strange, it has to be because of
the match.
Thus, hes not being avoided by her. Ryuuji then spoke slightly louder as if to put a lid on
whatever Taiga was about to say next.
The problem is how to excite her enough to come. This is where her Lordship Angel Taiga gets
to show off her skill, am I right? Didnt you say youd even go bare naked to help me out?
Haa? Bare naked? I didnt say that. Youre kidding, in this situation?
Ryuuji inadvertently faltered because eyes, cold enough without verbal abuse, were looking at
him. She let out an artificially large sigh. Taiga probably was in the mood to click her tongue, but
she held it back and sipped her cocoa.
Well, yes, I remember, of course. Angel Taiga is the messenger of love. The heaven-sent
child of Christmas. The good girl mirror. Santas watching and checking too. .Which is why,
Ill bring Minorin to the Eve party no matter what it takes. I fully intend to back you up as your
Cupid and make your confession a success.
And to show just how serious she was, closing one eye, she made the motion of mounting an
arrow to a bow, took careful aim, and then fired it into Ryuujis heart. He got the feeling that

there wasnt much of a point in aiming at his heart over here, but that wasnt the problem.
I dont even know if I can co.n, fess to her.
You should. Its Eve after all. Its the night before holy Christmas after all.
She asserted frankly, this time with clouds forming over her brows at her second sigh.
.But, theres definitely something strange going on. I just know it. I dont know how to
support you two anymore. This is different from before. Before, you two were more,
Ive brought your order! said the waitress, cutting off what Taiga was going to say. Food was
placed before them, the bill was slipped into the bill holder, and for a while, there was silence.
After the waitress left, Ryuuji handed a spoon over to Taiga.
And? .What comes after you two were more?
.Oh, never mind. Theres no use in me thinking about it either. Theres no way you would
understand either. Lets eat before it cools down, for now..Ow ow ow ow! Aaaa!
Taiga quickly burned herself from the first bite, but in addition to that, dripped white sauce on
the opened math textbook.
Aaaaaaa! Dammit, I knew you would do that! You klutz! Wipe it, wipe it, wipe it!
I wiped it, okay. This is good enough. Ah~, theres oil stains on it..Oh well. At least this
way, we have an easier test scope, from where the stains are.
What the hell is she saying, thought a dismayed Ryuuji as he picked up the textbook. He was
going to try a little more at removing the stain that Taiga gave up on. But, at that time,
Yo! Takasu & Tiger, we kept you waiting! Were all here.
Were here! Ah, aw nice, youre eating! That looks great~ maybe I should order something
too~
Raising his face to the sound of Noto and Harutas voices, Ryuuji yelled an Ou and waved his
hand. And behind those two, were two more people, slightly surprising Ryuuji. Taiga was also
shaken, it seemed, and froze with the spoon still in her mouth.
Yo! Its really cold today isnt it! Even Im starting to want to get a down coat.
See, Maruo, didnt I say that a down coats the best way to stay warm? Theres cheap ones too.
Ah, see, see, Takasu-kun also has a down coat.
Sticking to the side of Kitamura, who was wearing a grey-duffle-coated like he was preparing
for his college entrance examinations, was a short-down-coated and large-puffy-bag-holding
Maya, wearing out of sheer willpower a miniskirt for her exposed legs and long boots. Her silky,
straight, lone hair, which was redyed into a slightly dark tone, went well with her light makeup
of only mascara and gloss, and it was obvious that the brigade of school-uniformed boys sitting
nearby were looking at Maya. These eyes were different from the, Shes a performerUwaa!
that Ami gets and different from the, What a beautiful girl..Wow~! of Taiga. This rawer, closer
type of flurry, in which it was very possible she might be hit on, reached Ryuujis ears. He didnt
feel superior that he was meeting with that same Maya. Well, actually, a little bit, but.
Kihara. Whats up? I didnt think youd come.
I also wanted a copy of the Bro Notes. I didnt feel like studying by myself. Is it okay if Im
here?
N, not a problem at all.Kawashima and Kashii are?
Ah, they cant come it looks like. Oh right, can I have copies for Ami-chan and Nanako too?
I dont mind at all, but
He could understand why Ami would come, but Maya? He didnt think shed come by herself,
independent of the usual trio. Hey, lets sit down already, said Maya as she pulled on the sleeve
of Kitamuras coat. Wrinkles formed on the brow of Taiga, spoon still in mouth. Maybe she didnt
know how she was supposed to deal with Maya as opposed to Ami, or maybe her good girl
restriction was getting in the way. Taiga silently alternated glances between Kitamura and Maya,
who was clinging to Kitamura. Then,
Okay then, okay then, lets sit down, lets all sit down! Its a bit too crowded here for six people.
Announcing his territorial occupation of it, Noto put his bag on the two-seat table across of them
in a strangely abrupt way.
Okay, okay, Tiger, stand up! Haruta, you go all the way in over there. Kihara will be sitting
next to Takasu, go on, go on. Then, Ill be next to Haruta. Tiger, come over here, bring the doria,
yeah, this seat. Okay, Kitamura, you go over here. Take my bag, thanks. Right, were done.
Before he knew it, Taiga and Kitamura were excellently positioned and facing each other at the
two-seat table and slightly removed from the other four.

Eh, eh, wait, wait, hold on!? I want to sit there too! No, I mean, um, ah, I know, us girls will sit
together! Right, right, right, Tiger, how about it!
Maya, strangely nervous and panicky, was about to get up, but not even giving her a moment to
wait for Taigas response, Haruta said, Silence~, heartily picking his nose.
Uwah, gross!
Dont be such a baby~. Is sitting next to Takacchan that horrible~? I feel totally sorry for
Takacchan~, youre so cold~ Kihara. Shes cruel~, right, Takkachan?
This time, he pointed his dirty finger at Ryuuji. Kihara shook her head with a frantic look.
Eh!? No, no, its not that! Its not that, but,
Anyway, lets order something! Drink bar for four, thats okay, right?!
Noto shut out the rest of Mayas sentence with abnormal skill. He swiftly pushed the button,
called the waitress, and completed his order. Maya, losing her timing, shut up, but glared at Noto
like she still had something to say. Ignoring her, Noto removed his glasses, muttering Ah, a finger
mark, and proceeded to wipe the lens busily with a napkin.
What is this unpleasant feeling in the air Just when Ryuuji was about to take a slight gulp of
air,
Well then, now its free drink time! Wed be disturbing the other customers if we all went, so
Ill pick up something for you guys. Any requests? If not, youre all getting cola!
The one that stood up, moving along at his own pace regardless of the unpleasantness, was
Kitamura. Noto, Haruta, and Ryuuji spontaneously applauded the manliness of Youre all getting
cola. However, immediately after,
Ah, ah, ah, Ill have something w, warm .no! Ill go too.
Taiga, face completely red, got up from her seat to chase after Kitamura. Noto and Haruta gave
each other a high five. Ryuuji was speechless. Maya was silent. Over at the drink bar, glasses
were passed between Kitamura and Taiga, ice was put inside, a waitress was called when they
couldnt find cups, ice was dropped (Taiga), ice was picked up (Kitamura), tongs were dropped
(Taiga), tongs were picked up (Kitamura). They made a pretty good combo from an outside point
of view.
Noto and Haruta were looking at this with smug looks
And. What are you trying to pull.
Eh? What. What are you talking about?
Dont play dumb with me.
Ryuujis evil eye penetrated Notos glasses and were homing in on Notos simple, otter eyes. He
might be dense, but even hed realize there was something up when it was being done this
blatantly.
Why are you trying so hard to hook Taiga up with Kitamura?
Yeah. Since this morning, Noto has been acting strange. Hes been doing nothing but pushing
Taiga towards Kitamura. Hes continued doing it in a way that cant be described as casual; it was
blatant. A little otter couldnt dare hope to survive the dark elemental, burning, black, flame of
Ryuujis eyes. Noto gave up without a fight and stuck out his tongue. This was, by the way, not
adorable at all.
So you figured it out. Well, thats fine anyway. I wanted your help for this too. You know,
Im thinking that Kitamura and Tiger are looking good together.
Ah, me too, me too~!
Sickeningly putting their hands over each other, Noto and Haruta nodded at each other.
Ryuujis movements were brought to a stop.
Kitamuras all heartbroken from getting left by Bro. Hes doing fine as the Student President,
but he has to be hurting on the inside. I want to him to cheer up fast. And to do that, dont you
think a new love is the perfect remedy? And, dont tell anyone else this but..
Noto briefly turned his head to the drink bar, making sure that Taiga and Kitamura didnt
come back yet, and then lowered his voice.
It looks like Tiger, likes Kitamura. This is serious like, serious. .You probably didnt
notice at all, you being the way you are.
Without thinking at all.
Without thinking at all, he stared back at Noto. With his mouth half-opened and a stupid look
on his face. Noto went off on his own, to a Yes, yes, I know, I know kind of expression of
understanding and continued.

Aaaah, I knew thatd surprise you. It was a major surprise to me too. Who would have thought
that Tiger had that kind of girly side to her? And since youve been the one thats been looking
after Tiger the closest, its only natural for you to be shocked.
He couldnt talk. He couldnt say anything. Not even one word.
How did you find out, or, I knew that for a while; none of these were the words that were stuck
in his throat. It wasnt that, and surprising to himself, they were,
What do you people know.
Or,
- Dont butt in when you dont know anything.
Or.
Mind your own business.
And so on.
These words were quietly boiling inside of him from an almost pale anger-like sensation and
were stealing the expression off from Ryuujis face. He was covered in an invasive possessiveness,
inflated sense of superiority, that sort of off-the-mark hue.
But in addition to that, he thought, Its not that. Youre wrong, youre wrong. ..It was
when he reached that point that he finally realized the strangeness of his own thoughts. Just
what was, Its not that? Just what was wrong? Taiga loves Kitamura. Wasnt that fact? Wasnt
that the straight to the point proposition that had been lying in front of Ryuuji and Taiga? Wasnt
what Noto was saying.correct?
Then, why was he trying to deny, even reject it, even when it had been clearly worded as
objective truth?
He didnt know. He didnt understand anything anymore
Okay, sorry for the wait! Heres four colas!
A tray was placed in front and Ryuuji lifted his face as if it had been bounced back. With his
usual all-Uniqlo casual wear showing completely, Kitamura swiftly passed the drink trays to the
four of them.
First, why dont we all start off from math? Then, if theres anything we dont understand, lets
all spend some time thinking while we look at the Presidents notes.
Okay, sure, but there shouldnt be anything that the Great Sensei doesnt understand, no~?
Me, theres nothing I know.
Kitamura, while laughing, shook his head to what Haruta said.
Thats common. Okay, talk to you later.
He turned around and was returning to Taigas table. Even when looking at her from the side,
he could tell that Taiga was nervous all over. When she was about to clear away her doria, she
dropped her spoon, when she was about to pick it up, she dropped her pencil case, when she was
about pick that up, she dropped her textbook, and finally, dropped her note book. Each time that
happened, the color of her face went up one grade higher in thick pink. Kitamura, asking her if
she was all right, then moved to help her. As he helped pick up the items, she replied that she was
fine with a clumsy smile. Kitamura, looking back at her, smiled gently. With no opportunity for
Ryuuji to do anything, the four arms efficiently picked up what had been dropped.
I told you. They sure do look like a good couple. With that done, Ill be off to the restroom
for a bit before studying.
Ah, I want to go too~.
Noto and Haruta stood up, but even still, Ryuuji was still there and didnt move. He felt
extremely strange. By being given the perspective from a third person like Noto, right now, and
suddenly, it almost began to seem like Taiga and Kitamura, sitting slightly off from him, were
people he had never met before. But, ah ha. Ah ha If he thought of those two as being people he
didnt know, it did seem like Taiga and Kitamura made a good match, more, far more than he had
ever thought. They did, really.
Ta, Takasu-kun! Hey, hey, hey, hey! Hey!
..Ah, ou
Maya, who had been sitting next to him, rubbed him with her elbow and snapped him out of his
trance. Maya lowered her voice to a tone that only Ryuuji could hear and whispered with an
impatient scowl on her face.
What do you think, Takasu-kun!? Are you thinking the same thing theyre thinking!? .Do
you think that they look good together, do you think that they should date each other!?

Eh..er.thatsactually, a bittoo sudden.

I knew it! exclaimed Maya, nodding, like she sniped the sentence fragment he inadvertently
stumbled at.
I knew it, you dont think so right! .Everyones saying that, but theyre all wrong, right!
Wait, hold on, what, do you mean by everyone.
Youd be upset if Tiger and Maruo hooked up right! Everybody in class is saying that the
reason youre with Tiger is because youre just really, really nice and cant help taking care of
people. Nothing more and nothing less, thats what they say. But, the truth is, you like Tiger,
right!?
What!? Wa, wa, wait, ..What!?
Ill support you, Takasu-kun! I really will! .So dont give up!
After showing off a vigorous fist pump, Maya quietly looked at Taiga and Kitamuras table. At
this point, anything he might say to deny this wouldnt change her mind. Hed known for a while
that Kitamura was popular among the girls, so he wasnt surprised about the hot eyes that Maya
directed towards Kitamura, but it wasnt that. Just wait a minute.
Exactly what had happened while he wasnt looking? Who knew what and how much of what,
and what did they want to accomplish? What should he do? Hes only been getting more confused
and couldnt resolve what he was feeling anymore. This is giganto confusing Guns and Roses. My
terra Andalucia is Iscandar. Does not compute. Thats about all he understood.
Taiga and Kitamura had the doria plate taken away, opened the math textbook, but without
dropping their eyes, they seemed to say something to each other. The words that he could hear in
fragments were, Christmas Eve, party, Preparatory Committee, Stupid Council, .. Noto and
Haruta returned and textbooks began to be opened at his table as well. On the way back, we
could all go on a copying spree at a convenience store on the way back, right. Better yet, why
dont we start leaving in turns now and go copying~? Thatd annoy the people running this
place wouldnt it? He nodded and shook his head to make it look like he was participating in the
conversation, but Ryuuji was unsettled. Restlessly drifting, wandering, and not even knowing
where to look, he looked right and he looked left while being washed away. Then he looked in
front of himself and remembered. Crap, the currys gotten cold. Hed been so distracted that hed
forgotten to eat. .Thats right, first, he should finish this.
But then, it happened. Right at the moment that he clenched his spoon and shoved a load of
curry and rice into his mouth,
Stool test! Ryuuji, theres a stool test! The committee members, they all have to take stool tests!
Ppht-! He almost spit out all of the curry. He frantically puckered his lips and gulped down
the brownness.
Yo, you..you were waiting for me to put that in my mouth werent you!?
Haa? Waiting for what?
Taiga tilted her head with a curious look on her face, and from behind her, Kitamura shook his
head gravely.
Shes right. Everyone has to take a stool test since theyll also be dealing with food.
Quit it~! Hey, you people~! Wheres your delicacy~! Dont talk about curry when people are
eating scat~! Whoops, my bad! I mean, dont be talking about scat when people are eating curry!
Right, the sca.curry-eating Takacchan over here!
After he was dealt an additional blow to the stomach by kind Haruta, the curry began to look
like something else to Ryuujis delicate eyes. Mera, oh my gAnderson.

Chapter 3
However, the time that flew like an arrow and marched forward with each day, wouldnt grant
Ryuuji the reprieve to be able to stay in merry disarray.
Habu!
Kyaa!
Glittering shreds of paper fluttered and scattered about, surrounded by two-persons worth of
muffled screaming. The screaming of others was then added on top as an empty cardboard box
tumbled to the corner of the hall.
Oh no! What should we do, oh this is bad! It all came out!
Dammit, you klutz! If youre going to be screaming, pick the pieces up, pick them up! Let me
see that, is your knee okay? Aaaah, you scraped it didnt you! Damn, you really are a klutz!
I dont need you to tell me that! Ow..I messed up again didnt I
What Taiga scattered throughout the hallway after school was gold and silver confetti, which
had taken the efforts of five people to make by shredding streamers. This could have been
bought, but since it was surprisingly expensive, the Preparatory Committee, wanting to curtail
costs, decided to make it themselves. Several hours of silent and plain labor were spent before
homeroom, at lunch, and then after school. Once a large enough amount for several boxes was
completed, a klutz emptied all the contents of one box while falling forward and rolling about two
times.
The klutzy culprit got up, scowled with irritation, and looked at her hurting red knee.
Excuse me! Could someone please help pick my stuff up over here too!
Ah, Im sorry.
Ryuuji turned his head toward the voice of the bachelorette homeroom teacher (30) that had
been rear-ended by Taiga. From what he could see, the large amounts of handouts that the
bachelorette (in good health) had been carrying were also scattered in the hallway. He was glad
that she wasnt fall over, butif he saidmy, what an impressive 30-year old lower body, ..a
bachelorette door that shouldnt be opened will open into a bachelorette dimension. So, without
saying anything unnecessary, he quickly got down to his knees, leaving the confetti to the other
guys, and began picking up the handouts.
Why me~! I had these handouts arranged in order but now theyre a mess~!
Im really sorry. Shes the culprit. That little idiot over there!
Introduced by Ryuuji, Taiga lightly picked up the edges of her skirt, bent her knees, and saying,
Sorry, bowing with surprising docility. This too was probably a part of the good girl Taiga policy.
Had this been the normal version, the bachelorette (both parents in good health) would have
been subjected to stepping solo steps for all of a bachelorette eternity in a hell of 64 beat tsks. The
bachelorette (no siblings), not knowing how fortunate she was, muttered Good grief, you kids are
so restless.. while furrowing her brows.
You two sure have been working for the Preparatory Committee an awful lot for the past few
days, but is everything fine? I dont mind that youre excited about the Christmas party, but dont
forget about your tests. And Aisaka-san, have you caught up with the classes you missed during
your suspension?
Aaaah, ugh, half-heartedly replied Taiga while she focused on picking up the confetti, so Ryuuji
answered in her place.
Weve been having study sessions with our group. If theres anything were stumped on, we
ask questions to each other, move on, and teach and learn from each other, that kind of thing.
But it doesnt look like theres much stuff that Taiga doesnt know already, and, we do have
Kanou-senpais killer notes in the end, so were kind of able to manage.
Is that so?.Well, Aisaka-sans grades, at least, are good. You also have extremely good
grades, but Haruta-kun, and Haruta-kun, and Haruta-kun, you see.
..Haruta you say.
And Haruta-kun. ..Sigh. Haruta-kun isnt in the Preparatory Committee, is he?
Dont worry. By order of Kitamura, weve kept the party off-limits to him, and were forcing
him to concentrate on studying.
Clad in a grey knit top and a white tight skirt, the small diamond pendant on her chest shaking,

and making an iron wall crouch (The ultimate anti-panty shot technique, in which her knees are
on the floor, her thigh is tilted diagonally, leaving no opportunity to see her underwear. While a
refined technique, when learned, your untouchable, unpopular-with-the-opposite-sex aura
rises!), the bachelorette (civil servant) picked up her handouts, but still looked at Ryuujis face
with worry.
Please, be sure, be sure, be very sure, to not neglect your studies and drop your grades like
him. You and Aisaka-san have been busy with the Preparatory Committee recently and Ive
been a little worried.
Im sorry
Apologizing lightly, Ryuuji scratched his head.
Yes, what the bachelorette (college graduate) said wasnt completely off the mark. Lately,
Ryuuji and Taigas days have been consumed by work from the Committee and have been
tempestuously busy.
They met early in the morning with the Student Council and had done this and that for the
party preparations. There was plenty that had to be done. The Committee had to assign
personnel, draft plans for obtaining the necessary materials, work out the budget, pester
teachers about receiving expenditures from the Student Council budget, meet during lunch,
finalize the daily schedule and work, determine if they were going to split up into groups, check
their progress, and after school, decorate the place with confetti and what not, but mainly, they
all performed manual labor.
Concurrent to that, classes were still going on as usual and the term finals were getting closer.
At night, theyd have study sessions at the family restaurant or someones house, and after they
split up, each would study separately at their own house. The teachers, however, had been saying
it again and again, that they only reluctantly allowed the party on Christmas Eve, and if anyone
neglected their classes and as a result received bad test results because of the party preparations,
the party will be immediately canceled.
Taigas joining of the Preparatory Committee, especially, hadnt been looked on well by the
adults. Of course, they wouldnt welcome the involvement of Taiga in the non-officially
sanctioned so-called fun club of the students, seeing as she was the biggest problem child in
school, the troublemaker everyone knew, and, who on top of that, finally obtained a record the
other day. Harsh comments like, she hasnt learned her lesson, or her punishment was too light,
were not few in number.
However, among them, there was only one person, the bachelorette, no, their homeroom
teacher, Koigakubo Yuri, that had been in favor of Taigas participation in the Committee, on the
grounds that Taigas grades were far from bad, that this will be the necessary stress relief for
emotionally stabilizing Taiga, that her involvement in an event in a position of responsibility will
deepen her own sense of being a student of this school
The so-called bachelorette (shes a single child, but she doesnt care about keeping her family
name) was holding up Taigas back, and if Taiga fell down, the bachelorettes (in other words, she
doesnt want someone to marry into her family!) position will also become shaky. And at this
moment, an event that embodied that very statement itself occurred.
..But, anyway. I dont think you need to worry about Taiga at all. Taigas grades are much
better than mine. While we were studying together for these term finals, we showed each other
the results we got for the midterms, and thats when I first found out. I hate to say it, but I didnt
expect that from the way she normally is.
Back in her first year, she had to take make-up examinations a few times because she had
gotten 0s for forgetting to write her name. But dont you worry, this year Ive been telling her,
Write your name! Your name! Your n-a-m-e! before the tests.
I apologize on behalf of the klutz. Here you go, thats everything.
Thank you!
Im sorry for the trouble. Bache..Sensei, are you coming to the Christmas Eve party?
I most certainly will not! I dont have plans, but by my honor, I refuse to go! But,
An faint laugh shook her soft, unexpected smile.
I hope its a success. You guys have been working so hard on setting it up, so your efforts have
to be rewarded.
The tip of Ryuujis nose reddened involuntarily by what the bachelorette (shes ready to become
a bride anytime!) had to say. He was finally able to emit flame from the tip of his nose! ..No, that

wasnt it. To be rewarded in other words, Minori will come. To spend Christmas Eve with his
crush. Ryuuji, and Lord Angel Taiga as well, used up precious time on preparing for the party for
that purpose.
He wanted to be rewarded. Ryuuji fell silent for a bit and reflected on what she had said. He
wanted to spend his once in a lifetime, seventeenth Christmas Eve with..he wanted to spend this
lovers day, with Minori. Taiga shouldve felt the same way too. She should be wishing that she
could make the party a success with Kitamura.
The bachelorette (ah, shes also proficient in language ) wouldnt have a clue to this, but he
felt that the way she was gently looking at Taiga was full of earnest warmth. It was clear to
Ryuuji by just her eyes that she was truly concerned about Taiga, the problem child, as her
homeroom teacher. This adult was definitely on their side, he thought.
Taiga was crawling in the hallway, and Aisaka-senpai! Theres garbage inside~! Geh!
Awawa, oh no, oh no! Ill remove the garbage, so senpai, please keep gathering the pieces! If
someone passes, theyll get scattered! No! Oh no! while making a big ruckus with the first
year students, she picked up the pieces of her own klutzy mess. When they first laid their eyes on
her, the underclassmen had been terror-stricken at the appearance of the most vicious animal,
the Palmtop Tiger. But now, because Taiga was in her Christmas-only good girl mode, even they
were completely treating her rather normally as an upperclassmen and seemed to have gotten
used to following up on her goofs.
Senpai, over there! Over there too! While he was looking at Taiga hurriedly going back and
forth left and right in response to her underclassmen, Ryuujis face sinisterly convulsed
involuntarily. It was a smile.
Taiga, she loves Christmas. To be honest, its a little hard for me to understand Thats
why shes working so hard. She said that she has to be a good girl because Santas looking,
something stupid like that.
My, so thats why. .I understand how she feels, all girls love Christmas.
Really?
Im not at an age where I can be called a girl anymore, but I love it. Christmas..Tiffany, and
Cartier, Gucci and Coach..Hermes, Bulgari, Dior, Chanel.Chloe, Bottega, Mark, Jaco, bu, su, u,
u, u, uooooooooooooooooooooo!
..Ou!?
THE BACHELORETTE BLEW THE FIRE OF WORLDLY DESIRE!
RYUUJI SHUDDERED!
COMMAND (DOWN) ESCAPE
CANT ESCAPE!
Im, going to buy myself a rewaaaaaard! Its Christmas, its all right isnt it!? A watch, a bag, or
an accessory, my budgets at a big 30,000 yen! Its my first Christmas since turning 30 after all, and
this is a reward for 30 years worth of hard work! Thus, its fine if I buy something!

Wh, why are you looking at me like that!? If you have

something to say, why dont you say it!?

You, you think that its going to be a waste of money dont

you!? I bet youre thinking, youre being fooled by the
Reward yourself marketing, you bachelorette, you
bachelorette, you bachelorette, right?!

No.Stop it.dont look at me with those eyes.dont

looooooook! I know, even I know, I know its a waste of
money! But, but, but! I dont know how to get the energy to
live without raising my tension this way! I dont know
whats the point of working toooooo! Ugyaaaa!

Sob, sob, Im squandering money arent II might be

single for the rest of my life, I might need almost 70,000,000
yen when Im old, but I cant expect to die easily if I spend
30,000 yen on showy brand goods just because its Christmas, rightBut, but, lets say I save and

save, hold back on buying everything I want, and then I finally get 100,000,000 yen, yahoo! But
the next minute, Japans going up in hyper inflation and its become a world where savings are
just pieces of paper, what would you do? And besides t..huh? I think I might have seen
maybeI should buy an apartment!?

I, I see..if I take a loan and buy one.thatll settle the inflation problems perfectly, right!?

Right, right, thats right! I shouldnt be wasting time buying brand goods! Ill save money for
the down payment and buy an apartment! A fashionable, new apartment, for one person, by the
station! And when I get married, Ill lease it out, right!? Kyaa

Then again, maybe Ill end up spending the rest of my life there and be found as a lonely
corpse
.
Looking at the illusions of cold powdery snow falling painfully behind the bachelorette
(Mercury, still retrograding..sob), Ryuuji was at a loss as to what to say to her. Absolute zero
snow blew from permafrost called emptiness that festered inside the hearts of the ice ace
generation.
This is the last one! Ryuuji, I picked up everything! Lets go to the gym, theyre waiting over
there!
Ah, yeah! Ou!
Picking up her box once more, Taiga roared. She stamped her feet, telling him to hurry. Ryuuji
finally receiving the chance to escape, bowed, and ran down the hallway, following Taiga while
carrying his own box. Ah! Dont run! echoed the voice of the Bachelorette, who still chose to
continue living her difficult life, but they raced down the stairs as if to flee from a curse.
With each carrying one confetti box, the destination they were heading to was the gym
storeroom. Over there, the Student Council Team led by Kitamura should be organizing the items
that had been fabricated. The confetti was originally not included in the schedule, so the one full
day of work spent on the confetti had to be made up by the Taiga Group starting now. Hurry,
hurry, he mumbled to himself as he kicked his own butt, but then,
Yo! Its Taiga!
He noticed the ringing voice. This time, Ryuuji was the one who nearly unleashed the confetti.
Oh, Minorin! What a coincidence! Club activity?
Taiga stopped her feet and answered with a smile. She secretly winked at Ryuuji, like she
wanted to say, Yes!
Yeah, weve been doing muscle training in the gym. Kitamura-kun and the gang were there,
hustling.
Minori also laughed and stopped moving. The person they had nearly passed was Minori, in a
jersey, slightly sweating, cheeks glowing, and with her hair tied up in a crumpled and bland bun.
However, she was with several other second year students. Kushieda, the coachs going to yell if
we dont hurry up! one girl said, tugging on her jersey. Aisaka-senpai, we should hurry up!
said a first year girl frantically to a stopped Taiga from behind.
Oh my, oh my, anyway! See you later! she said with regret, however, the two girls began
walking again practically simultaneously, then,
.Hey. There have been a lot of near-misses lately.
Ou.
There was a brief, strobe like light
It was an unavoidable, direct, glance that hit him from the front.
Kushieda Minoris two eyes definitely had looked toward him, he thought. He tried to reply
lightly and quickly, but unable to make a good face, he contorted his mouth. Seeing that, indeed
seeing that, Minori uttered a strange and comical Fuh, he then turned around. Ryuuji then
frantically released a strained voice from his tension-stiff throat and hurled it in the direction of
her back.
C.Christmas Eve! Party! Youll have fun! So, Kushieda, you come too!
She heard it, didnt she?
She should have heard it.
Minori turned her head a little and was about to say something with a problematic look on her

face, but before she could, the girl next to her immediately took her by the arm. Hurry up! the
girl had said, and Minori was tugged away. Judging from her expression, what Minori was about
to say but couldnt, wasnt the response that Ryuuji was waiting for. But, she should have heard
him. What Ryuuji tried hard to say must have reached Minori.
Another near-miss Lately, this has been happening a lot. Lately, no, more like, for the past few
days. In the morning, at lunch, after school. Minori didnt join the study group, nor was she
working at the family restaurant. The only thing building up between the two of them were days
of near-misses
But, even so.
Even so, Ryuuji still believed.
That as long as Minori showed up at the party, everything would work out.
Minori said that she was in a slump now. She said that being bubbly wouldnt be setting a good
example to her club members. He wanted her to at least get in the mood to think about going.
But, the only things that he could do were clumsily invite her in that one moment that they ran
into each other, and get the preparations in order in the event that Minori came. ..Of course,
he really wanted to do more. If there was anything he could do, hed do it. He wanted to, but he
didnt know how, and could only look at Minoris back. He was only able to become aware of just
how useless he was day by day.
But if there was anything he had, it was a wish. He believed in it from the bottom of his heart.
As long as she came to the Christmas Eve party, as long as the party became a success and
everyone had fun and everyone laughed, Minori should be back to her old, cheerful self and
points that smile of hers on him. Then, Ryuuji should become happy after looking at that smile.
Yes in the end, he wanted Minori to cheer up. To Ryuuji, keeping Minori smiling, and having her
smile at him, were important and special above all.
He wanted Minori to be happy.
So thats it, he thought, as he finally realized what hed been unaware of. Somewhere along the
way, he mixed up the order of the means and the ends.
It shouldnt have been, Since Im having a party on Christmas Eve, I want to bring a brooding
Minori. It should be, Because I want Minori to cheer up, I want her to have a good time at the
Eve party. Thats how Ryuuji truly felt.
Your efforts have to be rewarded. The words whispered by the adult on his side resonated to
the bottom of his chest like a protective charm. That was really it. He really wanted to be
rewarded. To do that, he can keep working no matter how little sleep he gets. He can keep
working no matter how worried he is. He can overcome it no matter how many near misses there
are.
As long as Ryuuji believed that Minoris face would be waiting for him across the horizon, he
will be able to overcome anything. Yes, anything
Ryuuuji! What are you doing you dilly-dallying nitw..I mean, you silly, easy-going person!
Come on, hurry up!
.Ou!
Youre la~te. What were you doing? Geez, you really are dilly-dallying stupid nitwits~
Inside the dusty and sweat-stinking gym storeroom was Ami. She was sitting on top of a layered
mat with her legs thrown out, and next to her, Kitamura and the Student Council were hustling
around and about.
Spotting Murase writing something on a white board, Ryuuji shouted, Hey! and slapped him
on the butt. Murase, smiling, replied, Yo, and turned his face toward him. They had met each
other at the chaos before the Student Council elections. Since then, it turned out they had a
surprisingly lot in common and have become friends. Murase, screwing around, ground the back
of his pen against a box-holding Ryuujis armpit, who then screamed for him to stoooooooooop it
as he twisted his body.
Behind those filthy and unsightly men,
There was a little accident! Whats your prob..wait, why are you here, Stupichi? What
happened to your job? Youre skipping arent you.
I~m in charge of making little ornaments, with one of the Student Council first years~. So,
weve split up the work, and Im here making this thingy little by little. See, look! Im pretty
incredible dont you think?

What Ami, sitting on top of the layer mat, scooped up with a tingle sound was a decoration
made up of small bells tied across a long silkworm gut. It was to be entangled around a mini light
strand and wrapped around the tree. Ami shook it with a proud look on her face to show it off,
but at that moment,
Uwah!? Wait, wait, wait, no! Why!?
From the part that had been finished and so carefully coiled, a bell fell and jingled onto the
mat. Ami frantically tried to pick up the rolling bell, but doing so, even more came jingling off.
Taiga also went over to pick them up with her and said,
Kyaa kyakya! Thats our Stupichi! You klutz, you klutz! Haha, you have to redo it!
Why you..is it okay for you to be saying that?
..What a regrettable accident.
Pushing aside an anti-Santa Taiga who added an, Oh, what a tragedy, and theatrically knelt
down to present the bells she picked up to Ami Ryuuji took a look at Amis wrists. Hed been
attending when the Committee had picked this out from a book. At that time, it looked like it was
easy to make, but.
Ami pouted her cheeks, sat cross-legged, and glowered like she was the head honcho of a gang
of prisoners.
Che, why does this happen to happen~? Aaah, I got this far after one hour but now look..
Ami-chans not meant to do this dull kind of work! Yes, Ami-chan should be having a flashy, eyegrabbing role, one where her beauty, sweetness, fairness, cuteness, and pureness brilliantly
stand out
Muttering nonsense, she fell backwards with a slam. Thanks to the absolutely unsexy
lederhosen under her skirt, she didnt have to worry about a flickering glimpse of her panties,
however, her back did make a pathetic snapping sound. Ryuuji sat next to that same Ami and
smacked her white, protruding knee a few times.
If you have time to whine, fix it. Hey, get up, look, see this. You tied this the wrong way. If you
dont pass it through this loop too, everythings going to fall off.
Ryuuji skillfully passed the silkworm gut into the head of the bell, and showing it to her, made a
tight knot and properly fastened it. Ha? was the reaction Ami gave as she sat up and tilted her
head.
How did you do that? Where did I go wrong? I couldnt see it because you were too fast. Do it
one more time.
Look, youdo itlike this
Dexterous Ryuuji slowly moved his long fingers with easy-to-understand, large and slow
movements for Ami. Ami brought her face so close he could smell her hair, and while seriously
looking at his fingers, said,
.No-way. Like, what a total hassle. ..So like, I have to fix everything? I dont believe it, I
have to untie and redo, eeeeverything?
If you dont, theyll all jingle off the gut.
Kyaa! Youre kidding me!? Really!? This is the pits! This seemed like the easiest~! Hey,
Yuusaku! Its just like I thought, I caaaant do this by myself!
Hearing his childhood friend and tilting his glasses with an Eh? Kitamura came out in a white
shirt from the depths of the deep L-shaped storeroom. Dust was sticking heavily to his head, his
school jacket was off, his sleeves folded, and in his hands, for some reason, was a rusty hurdle. In
exchange for permission to use the gym, he was stuck with the task of cleaning out the storage
room by the teachers. And this was the ugly result. He may be the Great Illuminator Deity of
Broken Hearts, but he was a newborn, green-horned, newcomer Student President, and he
couldnt hold a candle to the previous President when it came to negotiating with the teachers.
What, its that much of a pain in the butt?
Its so, totally, totally, totally, a pain the butt! Theres absolutely no way I can finish this by
myself!
Erm.In that case, sorry Takasu, but could you help Ami? I already have Aisaka and the
others working on the next task.
To the side of Kitamura, Taiga firmly held scissors and glue in her hands and was assigning
tasks to the first years. Her eyes looked at Ryuuji and blinked like she just noticed him.
Eh, Ryuuji? You wont work with us? Were going to make stars, a looot.
From behind her, Kitamura, easily standing one head taller than her, stooped down and told

Taiga with a smile on his face. That, he thought about having Takasu help Ami out. Ryuuji didnt
know if it was because she didnt have the time to blush from being distracted by the recent
bustle, or if it was because she developed some degree of immunization, but when she nodded, it
was with surprising calmness, yet bright eyes. Ah, I see, was her reaction.
Kitamura took the scissors away from klutzy Taigas hands nonchalantly, and in its place,
jokingly made her carry a far too massive load of paper patterns of stars. It looked like Taiga was
about to drop it, but just when it looked bad, she narrowly recovered and smiled. Smiling closely
at each other once, Taiga and Kitamura walked away into the depths of the storeroom.
Have to be rewarded.
Before his thoughts could be gathered, the echoes of his previous thoughts revived in his ears.
He immediately forgot what he was about to say. He also forgot whatever it was he was about to
think.
Have to be rewarded. Thats right.
Taigas efforts, have to be rewarded.
Oh my, oh my, theyre getting along, Yuusaku and Tiger-chan. They look like quite the nice
couple dont they~
.Shut up and work. At any rate, you untie everything up to here.
Ami, displeased, stuck her tongue out. Unlike Noto, Amis face was cute even when her tongue
was sticking out. However, ignoring that, Ryuuji sat on the mat by her and skillfully pulled out a
new silkworm gut. He speedily began tying small bells to it. Ami poked his back ill-manneredly
with her cross-legged knees.
.Hey, hey, why dont we skip this. Nobodyll find out.
No..The hell, Ami-chan is sure showing a damn lack of effort. I thought you were going to
bust your butt and make the party take off?
I am busting my butt ~? I will make the party take off ~? Just watch, Ami-chan will show you
just, how, amazing she is. But ~, Im all pooped out today, the airs awful ~, its totally cold and
stinks like sweat~, the athletic clubs are going in and out and being noisy~, the softball girls from
earlier were lifting barbells and squealing~. Oh right, they left juuuust before you guys came,
kind of?
I said work.
Kyaha , laughed Ami, and looking at the others going about doing their jobs busily, she curled
her big eyes at Ryuuji.
Aw, too bad. You could have met a certain someone if only you came just a little bit earlier.
Ow!
Putting a bell on the palm of his hand, he flicked it, hitting Ami on the nose. Ryuuji narrowed
one eye, indicating that he couldnt hear anything, and turned his back to Ami, who was covering
her nose.
What a creep. Unbelievable. So thats what you guys do, huh? Mens misplaced bouts of anger
are sooo freaky. Dont take your frustration out on me just because youre drifting farther away
from Minori-chan. Its not my fault.
No duh. Who ever said that?
.Oooh nasty temper, nasty attitude.
Because you arent doing your job.
Okay, okay, Ill do it. See, see, Im doing it, Im doing it. Yeah, I can understand why Takasukuns not in a good mood though. Youve been doing nothing but getting off on the wrong
wavelength with the girl you like, and Im getting the vibes that Tiger-chans going to be merry,
and poor Takasu-kuns going to be left all by himself - Owowowow!
He silenced her with three flicks to the forehead. He shut her up and then, a light bulb went off
in his head.
It was you, wasnt it!? You did it! Youre the one responsible for that weird gossip!
Ha~~~a!? I dont know what youre talking about!
Not falling victim to the pretty face staring at him, he brought his face closer and said with as
low a voice as possible,
I mean! That Taigal-likes Kitamura! It looks like everybody wants them to be together!
You,
HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW!?
Having been finger-flicked in the forehead, no, more like, punched straight in the forehead,

Ryuuji shut his mouth from the long-awaited return of female-induced violence. Now that he
thought about it, it has been one week since Taiga stopped being violent. Waving her hand in
pain, Ami snorted.
Screw this~, why do I have to do this! Oh, and I knew about it of course, but I dont feel like
supporting Tiger and Yuusaku. I never gave a crap about them, and Ms. I love you Maruo
Maya is being hysterical. But, Ill agree with the rest of the class about them actually looking like
quite the couple. Heh, when people like that keep getting closer like that, one day, theyll end up
dating, right~. Then, what will you do~? Does it bother you~?
Thats fine. If thats it. I just have the feeling that theres something wrong about a mob
jumping up and down and saying stuff about other peoples romances. Thats all.
Really~~~~
After Ami looked at Ryuujis mumbling face, the nasty sparkle in her eyes returned.
Aha~ So, you feel like a father sending off his daughter as a bride~?
I dont know what youre talking about. I never had a daughter and I never had a father.
The woman you treasured so very dearly for a~ll this time kept her from falling, from getting
hurt, from crying, from getting injured, from getting sick, from dying is being swiped away by
another man. A guy who might not treasure her as well as you did. A guy who might not be able
to protect her, snatches her out of your nest after all you did to raise her, just when she became so
pretty Daddy doesnt get rewarded. Even if he doesnt want to, even if hes unrewarded, he
has to let go. Do you know why? Because Daddys going to become old and die first. He has no
choice but to entrust his daughter to a healthy man who will live longer than him cause hes
instinctively afraid of leaving his daughter alone in the world after he dies.
What the, he thought.
Taigas real father wasnt somebody special like that. He was a ridiculously self-centered
bastard that had no problems in throwing out his unprepared daughter. And Ryuuji wasnt
Taigas father. No way was he going to let himself have a daughter of the same age as him at 17.
Also, theres plenty of women that are separated from their fathers, unmarried, and can live by
themselves. Like Yuri-chan from the Koigakubo family or Yasuko-chan from the Takasu family.
They werent daughters left to fend for themselves powerlessly, but were adults with enough
power and knowledge to get by in the world. And, that isnt the only problem.
What? What you just said is really discriminatory. Youre a daughter too. Dont mock your
own kind.
Thats not what IM thinking~. Smart Ami-chan is just putting into easy words what Takasukun is thinking~.
Thats not how I think. Cut the crap.
He brushed off what Ami was saying with a snort and tried to focus on the silkworm gut and
the bells. He was carefully passing the gut through a small hole at the head of a bell. But, it didnt
go through and he tutted. Its not easy.
But it bothers you, doesnt it~? Looking at Yuusaku and Taiga together. I can tell from your
face. Thats why youre in such a bad mood, its twisted~. Even though youre not her father, even
though its not like youll die of old age before her, Takasu-kuns treasuring, really treasuring the
one woman youve decided to absolutely never touch. Youve already got a wife set in your mind,
and the three of you, like youre playing house, understand your roles, as Papa, Mama, and
Daughter.
Ah, I had enough of this!
Hey. What are you going to do?
This wasnt sarcasm or nastiness. She looked at him
quietly. Her two somewhat cold, dark brown eyes looked at
him as if they could see through anything. Ami tried
forcefully to see what was in the bottom of Ryuujis heart
with such directness that prevented him from moving.
I mean it. If Taiga and Yuusaku get together, what will
Takasu-kun do? You dont care? As long as you get together
with Minori-chan, it doesnt matter what happens to her?
He blinked. Licking his dried lips and forgetting to even
breathe in front of Amis gaze, he then finally remembered.
He didnt have to answer Amis question. However, when he

tried to turn his face, his jaw was grabbed like he was a girl
about to be kissed. He was captured by surprising power
and was dragged in at point blank. He was looked at by
frighteningly large eyes and was questioned again.
Are you fine with that? Hey, why are you playing the
Papa? When did that happen? Was it like that from the beginning?
I told you, I dont remember ever acting the part.
Even if he averted his eyes, even if he had a way of a way of knocking away the hand grabbing
his jaw, he couldnt run away from Amis voice.
What are you saying? You are so totally doing it.
Ch.
Takasu-kun and Taigas relationship, is reeeallly unnatural. Its freaking strange. You should
stop playing this childish game. It must have been mistaken from the beginning. Why dont you
wake up before someone gets really hurt? End everything. Then, you can start from scratch. Put
me in too. Not as a factor that appeared in the middle of an already developed relationship, but
from the start line. Put me in too. And then, be morebe more..II,
Dont know, then Ami shut her mouth. Then she quietly said, whatevah.
Ami turned her face to the side once, and in the next moment, formed a smile with her mouth.
Then, she whispered with the face of an angel, Forget everything I said.
He couldnt forget, but he might be able to act like he did. But Ryuuji couldnt find words to say
and he looked back at Amis smile, unable to move even his frozen hands. Ami picked up the
silkworm gut and a bell with her white hands, untied the gut, and dropped the bell onto her lap.
It was more trouble to undo a mistake and fix it instead of tying bells onto a new gut. Doing that,
she murmured quietly to herself,
When it comes down to it the person whom everyone understands the least is themselves.
That was it. The side of her face was covered by fallen hair and could barely be seen. The rush
of people coming and going had their hands full with themselves and didnt notice that the fake
angel on the mat had said anything.
From that point on, he couldnt see even a trace of the Christmas-only, donut-haloed angel.

It was the last day of the term finals.

All the tests ended before noon and homeroom was full of noisy clamor. Even though everyone
shouldve been exhausted from the three consecutive days of tests, their young bodies were
fidgeting to leave from the feeling of liberation, and they were already in the winter vacation
mood. They were imagining Christmas, and some were even dreaming as far as New Years
presents.
People, I keep telling you to be quiet! Okay!? Go straight home and dont fool around outside,
do you understand!? There are still normal classes tomorrow and the day after, so dont go into
winter vacation mode yet! Are-you-listening-to-me!??
The bachelorette homeroom teacher strained her voice, but there wasnt a chance in the world
that there would be people obediently shutting up in this class. They were finally freed from test
studying, and though she might have said there were still normal classes, it was not as if there
was going to be anything beyond handing out and explaining tests. And what remained was the
closing ceremony and what they were anticipating on Christmas Eve, the large party at the gym
to be attended by most of the class. Theres no such thing in the world as a seventeen year old
thats able to be calm under these circumstances and silently sit in his seat.
Even so, all stood up exuberantly at Kitamuras class order to rise. At the same time that the
farewell etiquette ended,
..Yaaaahoooooooooo! No more tests..!
Yes~yes~, its winter break! Its break~! Lets party~!
What should we eat, where do we go, what do we do on the way home~~~~~~?!
Kya~~~~~~~~~~!
The roar of the class was so loud that the 30 year old could no longer do anything but laugh
awkwardly shook the 2-C classroom at once. Similar uproar surely must have been happening in
the other classes too. There was laughter and shrilling chatter here and there in the classroom,
and soon, kids were dashing to the hallways like they were racing against each other, like they

were trying to escape from prison as quickly as they could. Ryuuji as well, finished packing his
bag and placed it on his desk. He stretched, bending his stiff shoulders and back. He had the
feeling that the results may be his best ever. The major points summed up simply in the Bro Notes
had appeared in the tests so much it was funny.
Hyo~! Its over! Hey, hey, lets get out of here and eat! Ruaaamen!
There shouldnt be Prep Committee work today right?
Ou, actually, todays a little
He ambiguously dodged answering the double Eh!s with a scratch to the head. He hadnt
made any plans for the part after, Todays a little., but he decided to tentatively turn them
down, in keeping with his wishful thinking on a certain matter. Shrugging off the invitation of his
friends, Ryuuji was looking straight ahead to the right. Because of his lack of sleep, his two
bloodshot, curse-, whoops, hopeful eyes were protectively glued to the exchange between two
girls.
One was Taiga. Forgetting to undo her long hair pinned back for the tests, she was trying very
hard to talk. The other was Minori. She listened to Taiga, with her front hair loosely bunched
together like a Kewpie doll (or Daigorou), again probably because of the tests.
After shaking her head and crossing her arms, Minori soon closed her eyes with a stern look.
Come on, nod, please say yes, cheered Ryuuji secretly. Clenching the sweat in his fists, he li~cked
his lips chapped from the dry air and took coarse breaths because of his nervousness.
Huff, huff, one more li~ck, clench, huff, huff, li~~~~~ck~.. Oh no, Takasu-kuns going wild~
Hes probably just fantasizing about something like end-of-year cleaning. Yeah. Actually, thats
kind of scary itself. Yeah, thats actually kind of dangerous. .Huff, huff, clench, huff,
li~~~~~~ck. Unaware of the terrified glances of the girls around him, Ryuuji huffed as he waited
for Minoris response.
But maybe his cheering wasnt good enough.
Sorry! Iza gotta be going to practice next!
Sorry! Minori apologized and suddenly gripped Taiga by the waist and pushed her out of an
imaginary ring with her strength as imaginary drums went rat-a-tat-tat.
Ryuuji, who didnt even have a cushion to throw, went back a little and dropped his shoulders.
And as if to give him another kick in the groin, Taiga, having recovered her footing, looked back
at Ryuuji nonchalantly, stuck her tongue out like shed been strangled, and made the gesture of
her head being decapitated with her thumb It wasnt nonchalant, but anyway, she gave him
the negative sign. Yes, he already heard you two.
It had been Taigas suggestion to invite Minori out for lunch with her and Ryuuji. However, the
operation was a failure, and Taiga returned to Ryuuji in shame.
Sorry. Minorin, shes got her club
I know, I know, I heard.
Guaa!
I said I know.
She made another neck cutting gesture, maybe because she wasnt confident that he
understood her. It became increasingly less lovely once he saw it up close, and while he felt sorry,
he had to look the other way by reflex. But at that moment,
Ah. Sorry, for real, Im sorry that I have to turn you guys down.
Ou. .No, well, I just, thought that, its been a while since w..you and Taiga had a decent
chat with each other.
Nah, the coach has fallen completely to the Dark Side, so practices been rough.
For the first time in days, by coincidence.well, not a coincidence Thanks to a near miss, he
was able to hear Minoris voice up close. Minori laughed and swung her little top-knot.
About your hair. Are you, okay with keeping it like that?
Eh? My hair? What? ..Oh!? Gyao!
She apparently forgot that she tied her bangs up. Minori touched her hair with her hands after
Ryuuji pointed at it, noticed the protruding Daigorou, and hastily pulled the rubber band off.
Tell me earlier, TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA, done! said Minori, unleashing a flurry of strikes in the
secret channeling points on Taigas forehead, who then fell down backwards without uttering a
sound. Then,
Whoah, oh crap! I have to go like this now! Aaaah, its all weird now..oh, no!
While she held down her bangs which were flipping back in strange directions, her cheeks

turned red. Muho! Ryuuji coughed. While the weird hair was funny, an obviously-embarrassed
Minori was so cute it affected his lungs.
Shouldnt Kawashima have some styling gel or something in her locker?
No, thats fine, Ill use water. .No, forget it, Ill just put this on.
Minori shook her head strongly, took out the uniform cap that was sticking out from the pocket
of her sports bag, and forced it down hard as if she wanted to cover her whole face.
Ou, phew. I almost thought you were going to take out the bald wig..but youre going to be
losing hair if you wear that inside.
I care not, YOURE in SHOCK!! Baldness comes falling down on me!! TO~O KEEP MY HAIR STAY
FLAT DOWN.. Ah, lost my voice. Oh well, who cares! Okay, see you guys tomorrow!
Then, without even giving them the time to wave back at her, she flipped her body around and
had quickly vacated the premises. She was gone like the wind and hadnt even let them say
goodbye.
He realized there was more stuff he wanted to talk about with her after she was gone. Like,
about how effective the Bro Notes which Minori had ended up not using were, or how she
should come to the party since preparations were moving along fine and most of the class was
coming.
He wouldnt let her get away next time. Ryuuji then buttoned his opened school jacket with an
agonized face. Che, intestines spilled forth from his sliced-open stomach.What a laugh.Of
course not. In the first place, he couldnt laugh at something like that. He simply put some
willingness and effort into it. Next time, he will definitely, definitely, not let her get away. There
were normal classes tomorrow and the day after, so he still had plenty of chances.
In order for his efforts to be rewarded, in order for him to have a happy Christmas, he will
definitely invite Minori out to the party. In order to see Minoris real smile, he will sincerely invite
her.
Ah, that took me off guard, blood isnt gushing from my forehead right?
..Gushed..Youre going to be in serious trouble if that happened.
After being knocked on to the floor by striking her secret channeling points, Taiga finally stood
up. Rubbing her forehead, she sighed with disappointment.
Minorin got away again.
She has to go to her club and theres nothing to do about that. I dont mind since theres still
time left.
Aaaah..Youre being an unusually good loser, or unusually understanding. And here I was,
thinking that Id give you two a chance to be alone together. I would have gone up to the front of
the restaurant, then deliberately say, Ah! There was something I had to do! or something.
Lord Angel Taiga is sure fired up. Enough to even prepare such a touching lie.
Now with time on his hands, Ryuuji looked around the classroom. Kitamura, who is intensely
busy, wouldnt be here, and it looks like Noto and Haruta already went out to eat ruaaamen. It
was awfully sad to be stuck with no one to eat lunch with, even when it was the last day of exams
and it was the first time in a while that he was free of responsibilities. But wait, there was still
someone left. Right in front of him.
Ah, oh fine, lets go eat something.
No, I wasnt lying, theres something I have to do, really.
Eh!? was Ryuujis reaction, who then unwittingly acted like a punk kid and fired eyebeams at
Taigas hair swirl.
What do you mean you have stuff to do!
I have to go to the post office for a bit. After I finish that, Ill just go eat somewhere outside.
Whats up with that? Why dont you just go to the post office and eat with me after? Im okay
with making something at home.
I have to go back once and carry some packages down there. And, hey, why are you being such
a pe-.
Pe? Ou, just say the rest of that. Me and Santa are listening.
..A pe, st, no its not that, its just, there are these times when I f, fuh, fee, feel like not feeling
like feeling like not feeling like feeling like not feeling like that I feel that we should keep a
certain distance between ourselves?
..?
It doesnt look like she even understood what she said. Taiga frowned and began leaning

gradually like the leaning tower of Pisa. Ryuuji, the one listening, also began leaning. Just when
the two were facing each other, mirroring the other and slanting at about 35 degrees,
There he is! Takasu-kun, hey, hey, hey, hey! Are you free!? You are, right, right! I need some
advice! How about having lunch with us!? Youll be the only guy in the group, but you dont mind,
right!? Right!?
The one aggressively coming at him with desperation that made him want to take a step back
on reflex, was Maya. Behind her were a slightly-smiling Nanako and Ami, wearing a malicious
smile, seemingly taking pleasure in seeing how Ryuuji was going to act. Judging by Mayas right
and left eyes, he was getting the vibes that Maruos case and Tigers case were written in them
respectively. Also, on her forehead were the words, The tests are over so we better start
thinking! In spite of it being an invitation from the 2-C Official Beautiful Girl Trio, the truth was
that he had the feeling that this was going to be a little.more like, a major pain in the butt.
So, without bothering to think about it,
Ah, uh..sorry. Theres stuff I have to do.
And so, he lied.
Eh!? Really!? If thats the case, Ill wait!?
Ah, uh, no, I have to go to the post office.
Then Ill go with you! Well have lunch after!
I have to carry packages from Taigas house If its okay to bring Taiga along, then,
Of course it isnt! was in her right eye. Read between the lines! was in the left one. Maya had
spoken eloquently with only the colors of her eyes, however, she kept her mouth shut and
reluctantly withdrew. While brushing up her long, beautifully colored hair,
Okay, fine. But, next time, youd better help me. ..After all, were birds of a feather, and if
I go down, you go down,.
Secretive mumbling trickled into Ryuujis ears. He had the feeling that clearing up her
misunderstanding is going to result in a bigger hysteria. And, at the moment, he didnt have that
energy.
So, bidding a quick adios and waving his hand in a rush to the trio, Ryuuji then got a dazed
Taiga to carry her bag, and pushing her small back, fled to the hallway.
As they descended down the stairs leading to the entrance side by side, Taiga looked at Ryuujis
face briefly.
What was that? You even lied? And what is with that valley girl that Ive started to become
acquainted to because shes been cozy-dozy with Kitamura-kun? Is she forcing you to do
something? .Whoops, ignore that, one more time, I wonder what that suh, sociable Kihara-san
wanted?
Dunno, beats the hell out of me. Lets just go to the post office already. It wont be a lie if we
really go.
Taiga, for one moment, narrowed her eyes with real displeasure, but apparently, good girl
mode prevented her from being able to find a way to turn down Ryuujis persistent request.
Geez.., she moaned quietly like a cow, gave up, and walked home with Ryuuji, just the two of
them.
.You, were, going, to carry thisby yourself?
Yeah, so? I did this last year too. One cart in each hand.
The rumbling and squeaking wheels of his cart conveyed to him the unevenness of the asphalt
street by the tickling in the palms of his hands. Taiga and Ryuuji were each pushing a cart, but it
started to feel like to him that they were competing to see whod break first from the weight.
The distance between the area of town that they lived in and the post office had a travel time of
more than 15 minutes even when walking normally. And to get there, one would have to brave a
painfully steep hill, go down the narrow, sharply-sloping, and winding Snake Hill, oh and, cross
the pedestrian walkway. Incidentally, the north wind was cold and strong enough to numb his
throat. It was so cold that he couldnt keep his eyes decently opened.
He hadnt dreamed that hed ever wind up making that kind of journey with stuff as big as this.
The noble part of him that felt great about helping out and his honest feelings about his decision
being a bit rash came and went in cycles. Either way, he was about to reach his limit but a little
bit ahead of that same, close-to-whining Ryuuji, Taiga was silently pulling a cart just as heavy.
She walked, the parts of her dress underneath her coat fluttered in the wind, and the heels of her

boots clicked the ground.

When Ryuuji had went to her apartment after changing, Taiga had already clumsily but firmly
bound the heavy packages with packaging cords to both carts. The piled-up packages were very
heavy and quite big. There were several bags beautifully wrapped.
So, what is this stuff?
.Stuff Im mailing. Look, weve arrived. Watch out for the steps. Heave,
Ho! And raising their voices in unison at the entrance of the post office, the two of them each
lifted up a heavy cart. Wobbling uncouthly like crabs, they passed the three-step stairs.
Unfortunately, the words No Barriers apparently belonged to a far-off land. The door wasnt an
automatic one, so Taiga, her back against the door, had no choice but to ill-manneredly push
open the door with her butt while holding the cart. Ryuuji was the one that was being persistent
about coming with her, so it wasnt his place to complain, but it was a really, tough, trip.
And once inside that small post office that had taken so long to reach,
Eh!? What is this, what is this line!
Ou..now this is an exhausting sight
What they were shown was a terribly crowded hubbub of men and women of all ages. Maybe it
was like this because it was nearly the end of the year, or maybe it was the gift-giving season, or
maybe it just happened to be the middle of lunchtime for the nearby companies, but anyway, the
narrow space was packed with so many people that it was muggy in fact, there was a good
chance he could catch a cold with one wrong move. However, no one was lining up at the only
delivery window in the building, and thinking, Oh, Ryuuji approached it, only to be stopped by a
service worker. He was told to draw a number slip from the machine, and when he drew a paper
strip, digital numbers told him that there were seven people waiting. Exactly just what is there
behind simply delivering something that warranted waiting that long?
Aaaah, we picked the wrong time to come. Nothing to do but sit on the sofa, huh..Hey, theres
not even anything to sit on.
Oh, dont fuss. Could you watch over the packages over there for a minute? I dont have the
address labels all in order yet, so Ill use this time to fill them out right over there.
Got it, and Ryuuji forced the two carts to the walls and saw off the fluttering hem of Taigas long
skirt while he tapped his grating hip. He figured that hell undo the cords holding down the
packages for her while shes away, so he brought his fingers to a tight knot,
..
His hands automatically stopped.
The words What is this? leaked out from Ryuujis mouth.
He didnt intend to look. But he saw it. On this beautiful and large box, wrapped in festive
Christmas paper and even ribboned, was an already-attached address label.
The name that accompanied the metropolitan prime spot address that was written on the label,
was Aisaka Rikurou He couldnt believe it. He found another package just like that. This time,
with clear intent, he looked at it. It had the same address, and the name was Aisaka Yuu.
Hey, could you put this on the one on the bottom, the big onewhat?
What, the hell is this? What are these names?
It wasnt his place to complain. He didnt have the right. He knew that, but he still couldnt bear
to say nothing. He couldnt stop himself from asking. Ryuuji looked like he was going to have a
bout of vertigo from the shock, but in front of him, Taigas expression did not change at all.
I could have had these sent directly at the department store, but I wanted to send them
together with cards and the stuff I bought at the other stores. And I decided Id send them myself.
So, at the department store, I purchased knit zip jackets that they could wear when theyre
golfing. A grey and pink set, the brand goods theyd like. Then theres Marriage Frerestea tea,
ceramic glasses thatd go well with drinking beer, and,
Not,
His voice got entangled in his throat and he coughed once. He started over again.
Not that! Your father and your stepmother? Youre sending them Christmas presents? Are you
serious!? Are you sane?!
If it wasnt Christmas, Id hit you for looking at my stuff without asking. But Ill forgive you.
These are just Christmas presents that Im sending to my fathers place, and I am serious and
sane. Is that good enough?
Why are you doing this!

Because its Christmas. And, hes my father. And, I wanted to keep it a secret, but I also got
presents for you and Yacchan. Oh right, back on Sunday, when I said I was going to study at
home, I was actually shopping at the department store, and then,
Im not talking about that!
Taiga momentarily closed her mouth. Apparently, it wasnt because she was overpowered by
Ryuujis sudden, large voice. Rather, she looked carefully at a shaken Ryuuji, calmly and with
composure. Her breathing was relaxed, and as if she was going to teach him how to have a
rational conversation, she spoke quietly.
The truth is, I know what you want to say. But, I dont want to hear it. Thats why I didnt want
you to come.
The reason why Ryuuji fell silent this time wasnt because he was overpowered.
Does she really understand? If she understands, why is she It was because he couldnt
organize these questions that were rushing up his throat and turn them into words that he fell
silent. Why Taiga, why, he thought.
Even if it was Christmas, he couldnt believe that she was giving gifts to the father that
abandoned her and even the stepmother that was the reason for that. Even though she normally
had nothing to do with them because of all of their betrayal and pain, even though she hates
their guts, why does she have to be nice to them? Just what kind of performance demanded her to
artificially go about like her relationship with her parents was in good shape and send presents
to them? If this was just a gigantic act of sarcasm, it would have made sense.
But, the reason was, because its Christmas, and he couldnt fathom it. Even Ryuuji felt like he
was betrayed by Taigas father. Back then, Ryuuji was also hurt, he was still hurt, and even now,
he hated him. Yet, how could Taiga be
Unable to believe this, Ryuuji continued to only look at Taigas face. Taiga, apparently, decided
to leave him be. She only took a short breath and indifferently continued to work. She patted and
flattened labels on the top of the cardboard boxes with her small, child-like, white hands. This too,
was strange.
The labels were written in script so beautiful that at one glance, he couldnt tell what language
they were written in. Once he took a good, good look, he could tell that the destination address
was Tokyo, but the return address column wasnt marked with Taigas name nor the address of
this city. In its place, there was only a name beginning with the letter S
Santa, Claus..
A volunteer. That kind of thing Its our turn. If youre not feeling uncomfortable about it,
help me out.
The addresses that the old man at the counter read aloud to make sure there werent any
mistakes, were the addresses of several churches and child welfare organizations.

She said that the all-girls school she had attended near her family home since primary school
was a Catholic one.
.But I couldnt move up to high school. Id been rejected entry for bad behavior.
Hearing the name of that school, one known throughout Japan as a traditional prestigious
school for daughters of rich families, Ryuuji unwittingly stopped his hand from twirling up his 780
yen pasta (with drink, salad, and lunch soup). In front of him, Taiga, putting the same pasta in
her mouth, continued to speak without noticing how he was looking at her.
Volunteer activities were mandatory at that school and we would travel to churches and
foundations with the sisters. There, it was compulsory for us to play with and do chores with what
people call I dont like the phrase, but ..unfortunate.children. Those packages back at the
post office are being sent to the churches and organizations Ive done volunteer work at before.
Theyre all going to places where children who cant be with their parents live. Toys, sweets,
books, manga, sports goods, wordbooks, dictionaries, illustrated books, character goods for school
supplies.Good girl I may be, I cant travel around the world and hand out Christmas presents
and I didnt want to get swindled by a strange charity either. Thats why I sent presents to places
that I had ties with and did as much as I could do.
So what comes after your family is, unfortunate children, huh..Hmmm
He knew that Taiga was looking back at him. But he still didnt feel like shutting up. He didnt
want to criticize her, nor did he want to make her stop, but,
Sorry, what your intentions are, are beyond me.

That was it.

He felt sick, not literally, by this over-the-top, un-Aisaka Taiga-like behavior. It was unsettling
to him inside and he couldnt understand it at all. It was too artificial, too phony, and he had to
ask her what her real intent was.
Taigas true self is the spoiled, arrogant, self-centered, swaggering, most vicious and most
powerful, Palmtop Tiger. At the same time, she is a girl thats unable to lie, doesnt know how to be
deceitful, and so honest that shes clumsy. That was what Aisaka Taiga should be. When Taiga
had said that shell be a good girl until Christmas, he had felt that this was a good thing, even
though he thought that her reasoning was unnatural. The facts were that since then, Taiga
didnt fight with anyone, not even Ami, didnt go on a rampage, diligently prepared for the party,
and gained the trust of the people around her. Everything had been heading in a good direction.
Ryuuji was able to spend his days peacefully without having to be exposed to Taigas
unreasonable and spoiled screaming. And in the case of Kitamura so much that Ryuuji was
becoming uneasy about it for reasons he didnt understand himself Taiga was able to get closer
to her crush.
But this, he felt that this was taking it past the limit. There was too much of a difference from
the usual Taiga, and frankly, it even felt very fake; it went beyond his understanding.
Drinking a slightly weak soup, Taiga took one breath. Normally, she would scream, You
insolent dog! at Ryuuji for pestering her, give him a double slap, and then be done with it, but it
looked like Taiga was going to adhere to being unlike herself, even here. Starting off by saying
this was separate from her family, she then slowly said,
.I want to let them know, that there is somebody watching.
She brushed up her long hair which spilled over her turtleneck sweater. She wiped the parsley
on her lips with a napkin and began speaking.
Christmas is the opportunity for this kind of stuff. I want them to know that even if they dont
have parents to raise them, even if they cant believe in God, even if they cant believe in Santa,
theres still somebody watching. I want to let them know that there is somebody that definitely
exists that is pretending to be Santa Claus and sending them piles of toys and sweets. That theres
somebody, somewhere in the world, that cares about them.I want them to know that, I want
them to believe, I want to believe This is kind of..to satisfy myself. Yeah, to say it simply, its
self-satisfaction. Thats all.
Her composed smile must have been one of self-mockery. After she shrugged her shoulders and
laughed, Taiga poked the bacon in her pasta.
Hypocrisy. Self-righteousness. Its exactly that. I know, I dont need you telling me that. What
Im doing isnt for the children, but to satisfy my own craving to do this. Im acting like a good
girl, for my own sake Its because, I, want to believe. That, someone, somewhere in the world,
is definitely watching me. In my case, its Santa.
.When you were talking about Santa, you werent joking?
Stupid isnt it?
Ryuuji could no longer reply. She was the one that was putting on the pale smile, but her eyes
radiated powerfully and didnt yield.
.I, really love Christmas. The town, the stores, everything is glittering, bright, and beautiful,
and everyone - they all look like theyre really having fun. To me, it looks like everywhere,
everywhere, is brimming with happiness. And then I think, ah, if only I can be a part of that I
want to become a part of that happy scene do good things, be a good girl, and then become one
of those happy faces shining in the Christmas city. And,
Who could have been able to say anything after looking at the shaking color in the depths of
her covered eyelashes, after looking at Taigas expression? What could he have said, Ryuuji
wondered, still unable to say anything and only listening. Taigas voice, whispering quietly as if
she were talking to herself, chipped slightly and seemed like it would fade out in the noise of the
restaurant.
And, you know, I really did meet Santa once. ..Then again, it might have been a dream.but,
I remember it. It was when I was little. Papa and Mama were still at home, it was Eve, and I was
sleeping under the tree in the living room. I think I was waiting for Santa. I woke up from the
cold and then I saw it snowing outside the window. I got up and just when I got close he was
there. Santa. On the other side of the window. I was startled, and then I opened the window for
him. Santa came in, drank the milk that I left for him under the tree, ate the biscuits, and then,

he gave me a present. Then, he said If Taiga is a good girl, Ill come again.
Her eyes weakly shook as she relived her memories, but then closed her mouth as if she were
snapping out of a trance. She lowered her eyes to the corner of the table, as if she were trying to
make up an excuse for herself to a silent Ryuuji.
Anyway, its a childish dream. I remember up to the point where I was trying to open the
present and untied the ribbon as my heart was pounding. But after that. It was still a really
happy dream. Thats the only part thats true. This is the only precious Christmas memory I have.
So, I want to be a good girl. Im believing a dream; stupid, right? Believing that someones
watching, thats stupid isnt it? Dont you think thats weak?
When she said that, there was only one thing that Ryuuji thought.
How do I answer without hurting Taiga? Nothing other than that.
Then slowly, Ryuuji shook his head. I dont think so at all, he murmured clumsily. Taiga
hearing that, deepened her smile and once again began to eat her pasta again. As he looked at
her large mouth, cold silence fell onto Ryuujis chest. And he wondered. Somebody that wants to
believe that someone is watching is, basically, somebody thats grown up without being seen by
anybody. Taiga has grown up without being watched by anyone, with the exception of just one
person the Santa she met in her dream. The people other than Santa, all of them, didnt look at
a maturing Taiga. On the shiny nights of Christmas Eves past, Taiga continued to be alone.
When he started into these deep wounds, this deep loneliness, what he felt was something close
to fear. It was a bottomless darkness, similar to despair.
What should I do, he thought.
What should he do to comfort the loneliness of Taiga that had been building up until now,
which wouldnt heal even as time passed? Taiga smiled and ate her pasta. She smiled as she said
she loved Christmas. She smiled as she said shell be a good girl .The reason why she could
laugh, it had to be because shed become numb. She continued to be neglected, the pain inside
torturing her entire body, and had come to think that it was normal.
If there was nothing he could do, then does this mean that he should leave her alone? Thats
not possible. But, but.
But. But.
Its a dream, its okay. Its not reality. Im not clinging to something real. This is a dream, its
fantasy, its imagination. Thats why.Ill believe it, Ill believe that someone is watching, Ill keep
being a good girl, and its not being weak, right?
Was it a dream, was it real?
It must have been a dream. It might have been just a one-in-a-time event that her bastard of a
father cooked up on a whim, but even that would be just as fleeting as a dream to Taiga. It wasnt
weakness, but it was sad, but if he honestly said that, hell surely hurt Taiga.
Sorry about badgering you about this so much. After you told me all that, I get it. Okay. I think,
that youre doing a fine job at being a good girl. Thus, I grant you the right to eat dessert too!
He smiled at her and pushed the dessert menu toward Taiga. Taiga said, Ah, wait, wait, ate
the remaining pasta with one slurp, and then began picking from a vast selection of desserts as
her eyes sparkled.
To keep himself from realizing the powerlessness that struck him by surprise at this pasta chain
in the early afternoon, Ryuuji put his chin into his hands.
They lived on the same planet, breathed the same air, walked beneath the same sky, had been
side by side like family but, in the end, he still hadnt seen her properly. He knew how hard it
was to understand each other, but his heart felt like breaking from his carelessness and
inexperience. He discovered that understanding and not hurting were on a completely different
level.
He didnt mind if he lost sight of someone going far away. He even believed that he would want
to shout goodbye with love and sincerity to the back of that person that was leaving his road, the
person that decided that shed follow her own path. Ryuuji already knew that if people believed
in thinking of one another, theyd be fine no matter how far apart they were.
But.
What should he do for a person he couldnt help with his own hands, even when she was in
pain and writhing even now, only several dozen centimeters away from him? If she at least yelled
Help me if she herself realized that she bore large wounds gushing blood, something might
change, but

This world probably has been made so cruel that she too, has to walk alone with her raw
wounds still open. If this was true, then God and Santa dont exist in this world. There is no
salvation, there is no one watching.

Chapter 4
December 23, 4 PM.
A mini truck from Kanou Shouten Ltd. entered from the school gate, and leaving tracks on the
ground, pulled up along the entrance of the gym. At that instant, men lying in wait rushed over to
express their thanks to the driver, the storekeeper of Kanouya the major sponsor of the
Cultural Festival, and the supermarket/home of the previous Student President (In other words,
Kanou Sumires old man). After each and everyone of them bowed once, they climbed onto the
back of the truck, and let out a low cry of admiration of Ooooo from the amount of what it was
carrying, and the beauty of the coloring of the parts sticking out from the packaging.
Wow..once we put this together, this is absolutely going be incredible!
While Ryuuji was untying the cords with the others, his eyes couldnt help but widen. From
what he could imagine from seeing these parts, the assembled form was most likely going to be
considerably large and unbelievably gorgeous.
Okay! Lets split up and carry this stuff!
The Preparatory Committee members, including Ryuuji, raised their fists in the air and roared
a Yeah! in response to Kitamuras jock voice. Even though it was the afterschool period, the
tension of all was electrifying, as it should be, since what was loaded in the truck was the symbol
of their party, the Christmas tree. Not only that, it was a fabulous one exceeding everyones
imagination, so it was natural for the voltage of the Committee members to have risen.
However, while it may have been a tree, it wasnt a real fir tree but an artificial one. The tray
full of parts shined with a mysterious pearl feel, easily allowing them to imagine the beauty and
magnificence of the completed tree. It even came decorated with several ball-shaped decorations,
and among them, it seemed like there were ones with gold and silver tops. Someone that picked
up a gold one shouted, A big kintama! and accordingly, received a low kick from at the back of
the knees from Kitamura. Another student stole the ball from his hands, but it turned out that he
already had one golden one, and realizing this, Ah, crap.. Ryuuji, who had seen this and
blurted, Pffft! somehow felt like he lost and was frustrated. The box he was lifting was probably
full of lights and cables.
He could hear the laughing yakking of the first years that were passing him from behind.
Hey, isnt this like totally full-blown!?
Better yet, can we put this thing together?
Theres no use in worrying, lets just do it! Lets try our best!
Hearing that, Ryuuji also hastily increased his pace. Ou, lets try our best! he replied mentally.
With waves of people, each held as many parts as they could and went one by one into the gym.
As constructing the tree would take time, the Committee intended to finish assembling it today,
then move it behind the stage in its completed form, take it out immediately after the ending
ceremony tomorrow was over, and proceed with setting up the hall The Committee members
worked under that schedule.
And it was no wonder why this tree was a totally full-blown one, since while the person that
delivered it was old man Kanou of Kanouya, the real key player that acquired it was,
Wa~o Its here! Guys, be sure to get all the parts together~! We cant finish it if were missing
even one piece! Fight, fight!
Kawashima Ami, whom was busy with preparing small decorations with the other girls inside
the gym. The girl team was also going wild at the entrance of the tree, screeched cheers of delight
when they saw the parts that the men carried, and ran over to help. Ami as well, seeing Ryuuji,
got up.
What do you think!? What do you think about this tree! Are you starting to understand how
amazing Ami-chan is!?
She smiled triumphantly. Needless to say, he hung his head down and was struck with
veneration for her majesty, Ami-chan.
Yeah, I really got it. Its the best! You really are incredible! Ill admit it!
You see, you see, you see~!? Once its put together, itll really like totally, totally, totally, be
beautiful!
The tree came from a slightly early, magazine-sponsored, Christmas party for people in the
fashion industry, at a new high-profile spot in the city. High-profile actors and gossiped actresses

were also invited, and apparently it was a party of so large a scale that even reporters from wide
shows tried to crash the party.
Ami was there as a model for the fashion show, the main event of the party, and right after
finishing, she personally asked the host, Id like to have this tree~ If possible, for free The
fine tree at the center of the hall was going to be disposed of after the party MOTTAINAI-ly, and
allegedly, he happily let her have it. However, the problem was how it was going to be delivered.
Ami helped out with even the disassembly work, collected all the parts, and was given a lift by
the staff of her magazine house, to bring those parts, for the moment, to the storage of her agency
near the hall. Everything went well until that point. The school was a bit too far off to ask the
driver to go to as a favor. Not only that, the tree was too big and had too many parts to be able to
send by a delivery service. The fact that Ami tried to pay from her own pocket was soon
discovered by Kitamura who wouldnt allow it on the grounds that it was over the amount that a
high school student should spend on a school event. Of course, if costs were seriously being
charged, the already sorrowful budget would drop in an instant.
The one there to save the day was old man Kanou of Kanouya. In order to help out with the
event of the school that his daughter had once literally reigned over, on a weekday with work, he
vroomed his mini truck downtown and went out of his way to drive to Amis talent agency then
doubled back, and transported the tree parts to the school completely free of charge.
An even hotter shout of appreciation leapt out into the air at the old pops, who joined the men
and was carrying one package.
Pops! Thank you!
Thats our Bros dad! Youre the ultimate man! I love you!
Im, going to shop from Kanouya from now on! Ill tell mom!
I think, the fish at Kanouya are the cleanest around the area. Youre also thorough about
labeling your vegetables with where they come from, youre careful to make sure we can see the
faces of the producers, your Fauchon spice selection is perfect, and oh yes, that Kyoto vegetable
event the other day was really fun! I bought the Manganji mustard and I was deliciously
surprised by it! It would be wonderful if you ordered more! Ah, I will most certainly be going to
the tuna butchering presentation! Tuna!
One guy that strangely knew a bit too much about Kanouya was also mixed in the crowd, but
the head of the Kanou family only laughed, happily and somewhat gruffly, then turned his back
to the noisy kids. Over there,
Ah. ..Aah..Hello..
Hello..
He encountered Taiga, who was carrying a box with different materials from the classroom.
Taiga awkwardly raised her chin up slightly, then lightly bowed her head. Of course shed feel
awkward. One month hasnt even passed since that incident, since Taiga got into a bloody fight
with his own daughter and went with her homeroom teacher to apologize to him.
But, old man Kanou remained the perfect man. He quietly murmured only, You look well, and
looking at her from afar and nodding approvingly several times, deepened the wrinkles on his
rough, sun-tanned cheeks, smiled with his eyes, and then, this time, left the gym for good.
.Uwah, that was a surprise. Why is that Stupidents dad..
Ryuuji told a petrified and eye-fluttering Taiga the new information he had just heard about
yesterday.
You know that first year girl in the Student Council? From what I hear, shes Bros little sister.
Eh!? ..Actually, I remember hearing about that. I completely forgot.
They passed their eyes over to one girl with a somewhat fluffy feel about her oohing and
aahing at the tree with the other first years. ..They dont look alike. ..No, they dont look
alike, they said, nodding to one another. Their backs were interrupted by two persons worth of
continuous pounding, and to finish it off,
Cmon, come on, do your jobs! Ami-chan got the best tree out there, so go put it together!
Wham! The girl that pushed him so much that his legs became tangled against each other was
Ami. Then, once realizing thanks to the time they had to complain about this roughness that
the other people had already started to unpack the boxes, Ryuuji and Taiga hastily went to work.
A copy of the completed drawing was handed out by Ami and as he looked over it with several
people that were saying, This is.Ah, this is for the roots, huh? Whats this for? Doesnt that
go on top? parts were flipped over and fiddled with. It pretty much felt like they were trying to

solve a gigantic puzzle.

Ryuuji, as well, grabbed one part, then
Huh, its light. This is styrofoam, right?
The inside, yeah. Then, theres the coating. Believe me, once its done, itll be really beautiful,
and with lighting, itll be like glossy pearl..Ah! Thats right, we need spotlights! Yuusaku!
He was abandoned by Ami and lost track of where to put what. Looking around uneasily for
someone with a copy,
Ah, Takasu-kun! That probably goes with this!
Which? Ou! Youre right!
Called by a person from a different class, Ryuuji scurried over. Once they fit the concave and
convex parts to each other and pushed it with force, it certainly did fit completely. Its a perfect fit,
he grinned, and he was grinned back at with a thanks! He then said that he did see other parts
like this one, so hell go pick them up, and thus, he ran off once more. As he scanned the scattered
parts, one by one, he oddly thought that, no matter what happens, he sure wasnt going to be able
to demonically transmigrate.
Back during the Student President elections, he used the reputation of his feared gangster face
to force a reluctant Kitamura to run Operation Kitamura Bait. He demonically transmigrated
together with Taiga, the Palmtop Tiger, and entered the elections as an unredeemable villain. His
objective was to be hated.
But, before he knew it, hes become completely friendly with the people from all the classes
working with together in the Preparatory Committee. It was the same with Taiga too.
Aisaka-san, you seem pretty light. Could you climb on my back and put this in?
Eh, but these are the shoes I wore when I went to the bathroom!? .Well, I supposed
everyone has their own fetishes.
.Um, please take them off.
Taiga, at a place a little farther off, was talking and laughing about this and that with girls
whose names Ryuuji hadnt even known. Of course, there were those fans going Tiger-sans
tights, Bare legs, This is exciting, Its coming, her foot stamp! and getting incomprehensively riled
up, but lets just ignore them for now.
Yeah. Im glad.
Ryuuji was able to honestly think so. His lips gradually formed into a faint smile. Ever since the
day before yesterday, when he heard about Taigas feelings towards Christmas, he had felt like
he was choking the whole time. Taigas loneliness, his powerlessness, a lot of other stuff there
was really a lot of stuff that he had been thinking about aimlessly, and unable to find answers, he
couldnt breathe easily. He even went out of his house, saying he was going to the convenience
store, and continued to walk for an hour, looking for stars in the night sky and thinking.
But now, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief and look at Taiga from afar. It was a fact that
Taiga was standing in the abyss of a deep loneliness he still couldnt begin to imagine. And on that
matter, even now he felt completely powerless.
But, hasnt Taiga been having a crazy but fun time with new friends this year? And, tomorrow,
shell be having a happy Christmas with everyone, with Kitamura, right? Of course, he will be
there too. He hasnt given up on getting Minori to come either.
Taiga isnt alone This fact made him happy, made him feel grateful, and Ryuuji, despite how
busy a time it was, stopped moving so he could watch Taiga working hard at assembling the tree.
He remembered the warmth of how old man Kanou looked at her. And, thats right. Theres the
Bachelorette (30) too. Not all the adults have abandoned Taiga. Even if they wont protect her just
as her parents didnt, they were concerned for her they were on her side. Im glad, he
whispered inside his chest.
Even if there hadnt been someone watching her for the seventeen years of her life, in this
years Christmas Eve, everyone was here. And for this years Christmas, he, Yasuko, and Inkochan were here. Hell prepare a large feast and welcome Taiga into the Takasu family.
No matter how cruel the world may be, Taiga is smiling this year. Shes already become a part
of that sparkling, happy scene. Taiga doesnt have to wait for a someone that doesnt exist and
stand by herself under a tree anymore. Shell spend tomorrow, that happy Christmas Eve that she
dreamed of, noisily and busily laughing with everyone this year.
Then on the next day, theyll have a Christmas meal at home; towards the tumultuous end of
the year, theyll do the end-of-the-year cleaning project that hed been so fired up on; and on

New Years Eve, theyll watch stupid variety shows with Yacchan until midnight then quietly
enter the New Year. New Years Day is the key to a successful year and he planned on definitely
experiencing the midnight bell tolling and the first sunrise of the year with her. Yes, it will be a
new year in just one more week. He wasnt going to let Taiga even have a bit of time to feel any
further loneliness during this turbulent time of year.
At first, Ryuuji had been diligently working so he could spend Eve with Minori. This was still his
number one task. He continued to work hard because he wanted to see Minoris smile. But, now,
with importance of just about the same weight, he wanted to color Christmas Eve brightly with
the smiles of everyone what was necessary for Taiga to happily wake up to a Christmas
morning.
Minori. Taiga. And, himself. Ami, the Student Council, the guys in the Preparatory Committee,
Noto, Haruta, everyone, everyone here, and all those not here.
If everyone wasnt happy if everyone wasnt rewarded, he couldnt complete it. Ryuuji had
pictured a ring-like relay. Someone would pray for someones happiness, someone would receive
that someones happiness and then smile, and then, someone else who saw that would smile.
Theyll continue to pass the baton of happiness round and round, and thats when the relay will
become a reality for the first time. If one person was missing, the ring will fall apart. And because
of that, Ryuuji also was desperately trying to pass that baton.
He smiled and looked at the imaginary baton in his hands.
.Taiga! This probably goes with that!
Waiwaiwait.Ryuuji! What are you doing, thats dangerous!
Ryuuji hurled up a part with the same shape to Taiga, who was sitting on the shoulders of one
of the girls and mounting the higher parts onto the tree. When she tried to catch it, she nearly
lost her balance, and disapproving shouts of Takasu-kun! Be serious! came from the girls.
Hihihi, he laughed and his face warped into a bloody demon crawling out from hell He was just
kidding a little of course. The days of him being feared of for no reason were over. .. Luckily for
him, he didnt notice the uninformed boy in front that screamed Eek! and gulped for no reason
Before long, the Student Council brought a bit belatedly several step ladders, firmly boosting
their efficiency. The parts haphazardly assembled from what could be understood, finally began
to gradually look like a real tree,
..Uwaah, its huge!
This is really huge!
Soon, it began to reach a height that no one could reach without a stepladder. This was
probably larger than three meters. The role of standing on top of a fully extended ladder and
doing the nerve-wracking work belonged to the Great Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts, the
Student President, Kitamura. While receiving directions from below like, Thats wrong Eh.
Thats wrong too Oh.. from his childhood friend, the one person who knew what the
completed tree looked like, he gradually made the intricately sharp tip of the tree.
The glossy pearl white tree was tall, however, the width of the cone which protruded out like a
skirt, was also considerably big. The parts that had seemed to be like puzzle pieces, once put
together, looked like fist-sized cubes pasted onto a deformed tree shape. Everyone crowded
around, fitting the parts in and dressing the tree with handcrafted ornaments, mini lights,
ribbons, and silkworm guts tied with bells. They may have been handmade, but the ornaments,
carefully made under a silver and blue motif, should go very well with the pearl white tree. Once
the enormous round decorations that were transported with it (the silver balls and kintama!) are
hung on the tree, it will look even more outstanding. No longer were there any idiots that would
dare to make vulgar jokes when there were girls around, either (but theyre kintama!).
Then, once Kitamura attached the final part, Taiga called out to him from below.
Kitamura-ku-n! I brought this from home! Put it at! The top of the tree!
Ah, stop! Dont throw, dont throw! Ill come down and pick it up!
Kitamura smoothly climbed down the ladder and looked at the box Taiga was holding.
Then,
.Are you sure!? Something this beautiful..or, more like something this expensive..
Kitamura asked her with widened eyes, but Taiga nodded happily.
Its all right. It was from my parents place, but its a little too big to put on the tree in my
apartment.
The ornament that Kitamura took out from the box with reverence was considerably larger

than Taigas face, transparent with the tinge of strong light, and possessed a complicated threedimensional structure it was a star. Waa..! the girls shouted from its beauty. Waa! joined
Ryuuji casually, as his evil eyes glimmered besides the girls.
Its crystal. This is.my favorite ornament. Its a real shame not to be using it at all, so its okay.
Could you put it on top of the tree for me?
.Okay! I will! Ill put your favorite star, at the top of the tree!
Climbing up the ladder once again, Kitamura tightly fitted Taigas star at the crown of the tree.
As if to see if it was firmly in place, he gently removed both of his hands and poked at it lightly
with his fingers. Seemingly satisfied, he said, ..OK! and pushed up his glasses and nodded.
From far off, Ryuuji saw Taigas cheeks soften into a smile. By coincidence, their eyes met, and
Taiga, laughing, Hehe~, rumpled her face like she was blushing. Happily wriggling her body
too. Its okay, you dont have to worry. You can blush or wriggle as much as you want.
Then.
..Extension cord is set!
..Outlet is set!
Okay, turn off the lights!
Following Kitamuras voice, one by one, lights began to fade out beginning at the entrance. The
blackout curtains were already closed, and in this gym, so cold that it felt like his fingers were
numb, darkness fell slowly.
Everyone stood there, looking at the tree silently. The exhaustion from work and their prayerlike anticipation, stole the voices from all their mouths.
..Power, on.
Several power switched were clicked noisily. Soon, there was light in the darkness
There was trembling, like an electric current, at the back of Ryuujis neck.
There was the shining of joy inside Taigas eyes.
There was the small sound of, .We did it, from Amis lips.
Smiles bloomed simultaneously on the many faces floating amidst the light. After the brief
silence, someone clapped. The sound of clapping expanded as if resonating. ..We, did it! Its
finished! Oh wow, oh wow, isnt this beautiful!? Shouts of cheering sprung up everywhere. Joy,
excitement, applause, cheering, and smiles. Ryuuji whistled and powerfully clapped his hands.
He high-fived Kitamura, who came up next to him, with his right hand, and staying in that pose,
the two of them both made a fist pump. He laughed hard enough to cut his dry lips. Even
Kitamura laughed so much that his glasses tilted downwards.
Shining in the darkness, the tree was truly beautiful.
White light illuminated the base of the tree, and the tree sparkled like glossy pearls. The bulbs
blinked on and off in yellow, flashing off of the ornaments. And, at the top of the tree, Taigas
shining star, catching all of the light and radiance, brightly and intensely twinkled like a real star
illuminating all of a world bursting at the seams with Christmas joy. And then.
It happened.
There was a tremendous shattering noise. The curtains shook and light entered suddenly from
outside.
One of the girls screamed. He heard and felt the vibrations of several tripping over in surprise.
And, what happened next, was, really, something that happened in just a mere instant.
A white something, flew in from the darkness with terrible momentum and struck the top of the
tree. There was an awful sound. There was screaming. All of the lights disappeared and
everything went black. The enormous tree hadnt been anchored. After all, they were about to
move it away. From its unstable weight, the tree leaned over simply, and then with frightening
momentum, came crashing to its side. The ornaments were a mess. The inserted parts came flying
off, and several made ominous sounds.
He had no idea what happened. He didnt want to see what happened. A fragment of
something flew at his cheeks and he closed his eyes on reflex.
No one, could say anything.
Lilight! Turn the lights on! Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!
Only the panicked and quick voice of Kitamura disturbingly echoed throughout the large
space. The lights came on from the opposite order of how they disappeared. The horrible disaster
became exposed to all. Expressions disappeared from everyones faces.
The tree that they had just finished assembling was completely ruined.

The ornaments were all scattered on the ground and the pulled-out power cords were sprawled
around like dead snakes. Pieces of styrofoam were littered about. Several of the parts forming the
tree were severely broken.
And, what had been on top of the tree, Taigas star, was
Ah.no.no!.No way..
Taiga ran to the star. She fell to her knees and quickly extended her hand out, but Stupid,
youre going to get hurt! Ami pulled her elbow back. The star that had been made from crystal
and had fallen onto the hard floor of the gym from a height of three meters was shattered to
pieces. The sharp pieces glittered brutally and he thought that one wrong move would have
easily ripped Taigas skin.
What happened?
As if to force him to understand what happened, the fading sky stared at him from one of the
curtains that covered a window. Not through the glass. The window was broken and pieces of the
shattered glass were scattered at a place away from the tree. Thank God nobody was hit by the
glass, Ryuuji thought, he thought, he thought, but, right now, he couldnt say anything.
At that time, the door of the gym burst open. Following suit, were the footsteps of several people
and Sorry! Is anyone hurt!? the penetrating voice of a girl.
He turned. Ryuuji saw. The voice belonged to Minori, dressed in a dirty uniform. Following her
were two girls with the same uniform, and,
.
Minori shut her mouth and froze.
What was left on the floor was a ball used in softball. This thing probably
No, theres no mistake about it. It broke the window, knocked down and destroyed the tree, and
broke Taigas star.
Im sorry, Minoris lips soon trembled. She repeated it, repeated it, and kept on repeating it. But
her faint voice could barely be heard by anyone and time couldnt roll back. The foul ball
foolishly hit by the chief of the girls softball team couldnt be undone.

Minorin, its okay. It was an accident. These things happen.

No, .Im sorry.Im sorry, Im really sorry..
The reason why all the members of the girls softball team had assembled in the gym was to
undo the damage that Minori caused to the tree. The chiefs blunder is our blunder! Were
sorry! After bowing in concert, they had gone to the corner of the gym with thoroughly
disciplined movements, and were now sitting on their heels in small groups. All were silent and
moved their hands, and if there were people that were busy solving the cubic puzzle, trying to
glue the broken parts together, there were also those untangling the decorations and repairing
the ornaments. The tree was being reassembled in the middle of the gym by the Preparatory
Committee and the Student Council. Leaving this task to the softball team would actually take
more time as the softball team hadnt seen the completed tree. Hence, this was the one thing that
Kitamura refused to have Minori and her team when the girls requested that they be allowed to
fix everything.
Distancing herself from the girls in the softball team and distancing herself from the people
rebuilding the tree, Minori sat below the stage. She looked at Taiga and Ryuuji who came over
and called out to her, then looked over at the faces of her teammates,
.Please let me do whatever I can do. Please. Taiga, dont worry about me. Its my
fault..Aaa..I cant believe I did thisaaah..
- What am I doing, seriously, she said. She bit her lips so hard they became white.
Bitterly talking to herself, in her hands, she held the shards of Taigas shattered star and
instant glue. Minori was trying to somehow repair that intricately designed star. Taiga crouched
next to Minori and desperately looked at the side of her stiffened face.
.Its not your fault, Minorin. It absolutely isnt. It was just an unfortunate accident.
No, it is my fault. It must have been because I zonked out. I hit that ball.it wasnt an accident,
my aim was off. I screwed up. I couldnt concentrate, and, then I messed up. .Im sorry about
your star. How could I break something so important to you I cant put it completely back
together but..Im sorry. Everyone, Im sorry.Im sorry.
Minori hung her head and scrubbed her face violently with the sleeve of her uniform. Her back
trembled up and down, slowly but feebly from deep breathing.

Like she was at a complete loss, Taiga looked at the face of Ryuuji, standing next to her.
However, Ryuuji didnt know what to do either.
The time to be leaving school was approaching, and the situation was, to put it frankly, bad.
Everyone knew that this was an accident and wouldnt blame Minori, but that still didnt change
the fact that this was bad. The teachers had given strict orders that all the students leave the
school by the end of the afterschool period. If they didnt finish, they might not be able to hold the
party. He was painfully aware of the feelings of Minori, who was frustrated on the inside but
wouldnt be blamed by anyone and ended up making even her teammates clean up her mess.
If only somebody exploded at her, screamed, cried, hit her; to Minori, that would have been far
easier to stand. Having to be the one blaming yourself, has to be painful. The loop of rejection,
hatred, and admonishment wont end until you forgive yourself. The guilt wont disappear either.
As she sat on her heels on the cold floor of the gym in her uniform, the edges of her eyes became
red. She sniffed with her head drooped and her finger tips trembled not just because of the cold.
Taiga brought her hand to Minori, but, that hand wandered through the air for a short time.
She gripped her fingers many times like she was hesitant, opened them, and abruptly stood up.
She looked at Ryuujis face and said,
.Then, Ryuuji, why dont you help her? Okay?
Saying that, she pushed Ryuujis back, but
No!
Minoris shrill voice froze Ryuuji in his tracks. Taiga also froze. It resonated, virtually like a
scream,
No, stop, just stop doing that!
And continued like that.
Minori didnt let anyone come near her and lowered her head, once again focusing on finishing
the endless puzzle.
There was no smiling, no cheerful happy Christmas atmosphere, and only the heavy silence
continued to pile up like falling snow flakes inside the chilly air.
Whether the preparations could be finished in time was dubious. He understood only one
thing. The reasons why Minori wont be coming to the party, increased yet again. Ryuuji looked
downward at Minori, but shut his slightly tired eyes. It was easy to endure the pain of being
rejected. But, it was hard to just watch Minori be so nervous to have to shout that.
Closing her mouth, Taiga looked back and forth at Minori and Ryuuji. She bit the knuckle of
her finger a little, then, once again looked at Ryuujis face. Their eyes met, and Taiga nodded at
Ryuuji slightly. Like she wanted to say, Take care of her. Then, fluttering her hair and flipping
around, she went towards the circle of people rebuilding the tree.
Ryuuji saw off her small back. Then, he continued to stand petrified without a plan next to
Minori.
Takasu-kun, you go too. Okay? Let me work on this by myself.
After sniffing once, Minori made a forced smile with slanted eyebrows. But Ryuuji, didnt go.
He might not have had a plan, but he was determined to not go anywhere.
.Just give it to me. Im good at this stuff.
Takasu-kun..
First off, you dont know what it looked like before. If you dont like it, ignore me.
He sat next to Minori, practically forcibly. He looked over the shards, found two large ones, and
saying, Ou, this is it, immediately went about gluing them together. Carefully and with
discretion.
Takasu-kun, stop it. Let me take responsibility for this. Beingbeing helped like this, I,
We dont have time. You do your own thing. Im not helping you, Im doing it on my own, for my
own sake.
Minoris face contorted like she was going to cry. But she held it back and bit her lips. Like she
became unable to say anything anymore, Minori dropped her eyes to the shards before her.
Then the two, remaining silent, devoted themselves to the task of putting together the crystal
shards. There was no conversation. Even though he was sitting next to his crush so close he could
feel her breathing, it was too cold and his chest didnt even throb at all. However, Ryuuji
continued to stay by Minori. Even if she didnt want him there, he continued to be there.
During Taigas suspension, he couldnt have a real conversation with her. He was being
avoided by Minori, Taiga had told him back when they were studying at the family restaurant.

Ryuuji and Minori, for a long time, continued to walk past each other. And now, this unfortunate
situation clearly split the space between them like a rift, and even if he was right next to her, his
eyes and his voice didnt reach her.
Lately, hes only been feeling the distance between them.
Even so No, because of that, Ryuuji wanted to stay by Minori. Because he was far from her,
because he didnt understand, because he wasnt understood by her. Thats why, he had to keep
trying. If he was being avoided, hell chase after her. If they were getting the wrong signals from
each other, hell clear it up. If things get worse, hell fix it. Thats why, he forced himself, sitting
there even if it was unnatural, and reached out his hand to her distant heart. This itself, was to
Ryuuji, an act of love. Even if he was the only one that was holding a hand out, it was a onesided romance, so its to be expected. Even if Minori only looked at him with a stiff face, even if her
lips were colorless, even if she blamed herself and was close to tears, Ryuuji wanted to keep
reaching out to her with his powerless hand. Praying only, that one day, it will reach her. The
time he stopped extending his hand will be the time this love ends.
He picked up a shard. He found a different shard that matched it. Carefully smearing glue on
it, he fit them together. Keeping them held in place for a while, he then nodded.
But because he might be bothering her, because he really didnt want to be hated by her,
Ryuuji quietly held his breath as much as possible. Right now, it was best that Minori forgot that
he was there.
But, just when he thought that,
.Takasu-kun.
Ou.
Minori called Ryuujis name quietly. Her face was facing the ground and still not looking at
Ryuuji.
.Takasu-kun, Takasu-kun..
I hear you.
Takasu-kun.
Im here.
- Minori repeatedly called out Ryuujis name.
Each time, Ryuuji answered.
Without letting utterance go unheard, he answered each time. If Minori ever called him, hell
always answer. If Minori also put her hand out, hell always grab it.
He softly glued another shard. Taigas shattered star gradually was restored to its original
form. It wasnt the same as before, but, it did shine without doubt.
He brought the crystal up and held it up to the light of the gym. He strained his eyes from the
vivid light. Looking at the starlight, born for the purpose of shining at the center of a happy
Christmas, the light which was the very symbol of happiness, Ryuuji smiled slightly. He put his
arm out so that Minori could see the star and gently said,
See. Look at it, its beautiful right? Things can be fixed even after they break. So cheer up.
It wont be like it was before.
But its definitely shining.
I,
Minoris voice wobbled like it was sinking in water.
Pretending not to notice, he waited for the rest of what she
had to say.
.I dont know, if things can be fixed..
They can be!
Ryuuji replied strongly and looked at the shining star. Its
light shined happiness. Minori should have seen it. But if
she still couldnt believe, he wanted to show it to her more
clearly, more definitely. He wanted to hold it out, right in
front of her.
Even if something does break and break, it can be put
back together again and again Just as his own feelings for
Minori may be easily broken destroyed by little
misunderstandings and delusions time and time again, they
are still able to be mended and born anew by her smile and

words.
Things may break, but they can be fixed.
And for each time something breaks, it can just be made
all over again.
Thats why theres no reason to cry if something breaks.
Dont worry They can be fixed, as many times as it takes.
The light he lifted up before them was a switch. He flipped the switch on and several star lights
lit up in the depths of his once cowardly heart.
The Orion twinkling inside gave unlimited power to Ryuuji.
He clasped the baton he wanted to pass to Minori with that power. He held out his other hand
so he could receive a baton from Minori and was already ready to take off. Then, Ryuujis time
will accelerate. His pulse will increase and his eyes will shine. The impending limit will lose its
stopper as he ran towards the limit of his overflowing feelings.
He wasnt only going to wait with the hand he stretched out, he wanted to pass the baton, take
the baton, and scream for her to run too. He wanted to show it to Minori. He wanted to show her
the expanding world in his heart, the limitless stars, the unbreakable, to the bottom of his heart.
Thats why he wanted her to run in the relay and not quit in the middle.
One year and half since he fell in love with Minori, Ryuuji finally wanted to shout out.
In the end, it took more than one hour to bring the tree back to something close to its original
state. The seams where the shards were joined did stand out a little, and the repaired star looked
like a mosaic decoration. But Taiga smiled, saying, This is fine, its cuter than before, and didnt
glomp her, but hugged her, patting her back many times. Minori, for only one moment, buried
her face in Taigas hair, then separated herself from her. Yelling, Im truly sorry, with a loud
voice, she bowed to the Preparatory Committee and the Student Council. She then turned herself
to face the row of softball players and said, Im sorry for being such a bad chief..! one more
time.
All the softball team members then bowed together and ran out of the gym.
Ryuuji, without hesitation, chased after the departing back of Minori.
He caught up to her in the chillingly quiet connecting corridor and patted her shoulder. To
Minori, who looked back in surprise, he wanted to say it as brightly as possible.
Come tomorrow! To the party! Itll be fun for sure! .I want to spend it with you!
.
Minoris throat rang like she held her breath.
Ryuuji, didnt stop.
If you dont have any plans, I mean.but I want you to come!
He waited for Minori to say Takasu-kun one more time. He waited for those words to come out
from her lips with cracked and weak whispering.
But.
..No. I cant go.
Minori didnt call out his name. She shook her head very clearly to the side, standing. Her face,
beneath the darkly flickering fluorescent lights, even looked pale. .
I caused too much trouble. I cant go.
But Ill wait for you!
..Dont wait. I wont go.
Ill wait!
With tenacity close to a stalker, Ryuuji yelled at Minoris back, not caring about the other
softball members. He didnt care if what he was doing was unsightly, if it was shameful, if his face
became a red-faced demon king. The love that had begun running wouldnt stop. The switch that
was turned on once couldnt be turned off again.

December 24, 4 PM.

After the ending ceremony ended before lunch and each of them satisfied their hunger with
the boxed lunches they had brought with them, all of them worked like the devil to prepare for
the party, leading to the present state of matters. All the members of the Student Council and the
Preparatory Committee were assembled in the gym. Everyone stood and watched as the teacher
in charge of the fire safety checked off items in detail with a manual in one hand. If there was

something out of order here, then thought Ryuuji, who probably wasnt the only one that was
a little nervous and thinking the same thing.
.Yes, this is okay, Circled. No problem.
To the voice theyd been waiting for, there were relieved outbursts of, Yay! Were finished!
Well then, gentlemen. Be sure that no problems occur, okay? In the off-chance that there are
any students violating the rules on alcohol, smoking, and such, that person will be immediately
expelled. Do you understand? Great Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts, I am expecting you in
particular to fulfill your responsibilities as manager and supervisor.
Yes, sir!
The person Kitamura answered with a salute was our Bachelorette (30), Koigakubo Yuri
(Currently searching for real estate). She was dressed in a striking style, more mannish than
usual, wearing a classy, shiny grey pantsuit, white gold bitter accessory, and hair arranged in an
up-style hairdo. Dropping their guard, the first year girls began to kid around with the
Bachelorette (30).
Oh yeah, Yuri-chan-sensei, wow youre all stylish today!
Could it be, a date!?
Kya! An Eve date with a boyfriend! .the girls rumbled in excitement, but the team of older
students ignored them and were silent. After getting to know Koigakubo Yuri for this long, they
knew to their bones that this thirty-year old wasnt the romance champion that was going to get a
date that easily on Christmas Eve. In the first place, the fact that she lost her most promising
partner by the retrograding of Mercury still lingered freshly in everyones memories. And, the
answer was just what the older team had expected,
This is not a date. Today, after this, I will be going to the Real Estate Purchasing Class for
Single Women. .Because, Im going to buy an apartment..The fee to attend is 1500 yen.
Thats reasonable Ryuuji was very pleased with this answer and tried to burn the heroic
image of dark-brown-make-up armored Bachelorette (30) in his eyes, but nope, he shifted his eyes
away. He got a little too excited.
Eh!? Re-real estate..?
.On, Eve..? Why?
Apparently, to the 15 and 16-year old girls, this was quite unbelievable. They must have been
thinking just where the fun was in a flower lining herself up with other people on Eve to go to a
class on real estate. And not just that, even having to pay an entry fee. It looks like it went beyond
the scope of their understanding.
You see, on Eve, you see, a woman that looks like she has a date, isnt prepared yet. The dream
property pops up out of nowhere, but oh, theres nothing to intercept it with! You see. This
itinerary, in other words, is our first barrier. Its the first test for weighing the qualifications of
single women trying to obtain real estate. Do you understand?
Uh..
Um
Well then, since it feels like the interest rates have hit rock bottom as well, Ill be leaving. Ah,
the other teachers will be in the staff room for the whole time, so be sure to greet them before and
after the party.
And so, somehow, the nearly shriveled spirit of the students revived again, and all gave a
hearty, Okaay! in response. Maybe the Bachelorette (30) as well had recovered the moisture of
her heart from the cheer of her students as the corners of her desperate and raised eyes relaxed
slightly. As she left, she whispered to Ryuuji with a smile on her face as she passed him.
Im happy the tree turned out so beautiful. Your results went up too, and Im real happy~. Im
confident that the efforts of you guys will be rewarded.
Ryuuji also grinned back at his Single Homeroom teacher.
Thank you! Im confident that youll find a good apartment!
Ah.mmm.thank you.
We will be rewarded!
Ryuuji with secret, but powerful determination, looked up at the tree praised by the
Bachelorette (30) as well. It was a little wobbly, but the tree standing right at the center of the
gym was enormous, magnificent, and beautiful. It was very, very, gorgeous. The seams of the
glued parts were carefully rasped, and nobody should be able to tell that it had fallen apart just
by looking at it. And at the top, was Taigas star. It was perfect.

The tree wasnt the only thing that was perfect. White and blue spotlights lit the floor from
above and their positions were adjusted like they were intersecting each other in the sky. If the
lighting in the gym is turned off and only those lights illuminated the hall, itll become dramatic,
no doubt. The stool tests had paid off, and booths of fruit punch, sandwich, fruit, cracker, and
desert were lined up grandly against the wall. While the people actually serving the food in
rotations were, of course, the Preparatory Committee members, the provider was a renowned
catering company. Through Amis connections, in exchange for sampling impressions from the
partygoers on the food, they were able to rent the service complete with the equipment, free of
charge.
At the center of the gathered, Kitamura shouted, Now then!
Theres been a lot of trouble, but, all of the preparations are set! Guys, good work! Your
enormous cooperation in the Great Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts project is deeply
appreciated! Theres still work to be done, but please, all of you, have fun! ..And Ami, thanks for
the tree and the food.
Surrounded by a chorus of roaring applause, Ami said, Oh no, its not a big deal at aaall~!
widening her eyes and acting excited.
There she goes again, Stupichi is really..Ryuuji?

Hey, are you okay?

Eh? Wha, what?
In reaction to the voice of Taiga, right beside him, Ryuuji blinked his eyes. He must have looked
like he was in bad enough shape to have to be asked if he was okay. Yeah, for these few hours,
hes had to put up with non-stop work, but,
Your eyes, are kind of looking really vacant.or I cant tell where theyre looking at? Youre
acting scary. What happened? Well, I knew that youre worried about Minori from what
happened yesterday, but if you dont get motivated,
No. Other way around. Right now, I am really, really on fire. Look, the halls perfect. The
preparations are all in order. And if only Kushieda comes, then everything is! .But, turns
out thats the biggest hurdle, huh. I tried inviting her and was being really persistent about it, but
she only said sorry.
Taiga crossed her arms.
Yes, things might have been just a little easier if only that accident hadnt happened
yesterday..no, but, if youre that fired up thenYoull be fine. Dont you worry. Keep it up.
Leave everything to me, Angel Taiga.
..What exactly are you going to do?
Except, his motivation is just going around in circles Ryuuji actually sort of realized this, but
looking up at that same Ryuuji, Taiga, however, gave him a confident V-sign.
I said dont worry. Itll be fine. Ive got a plan.
The whispered exchange was for a moment, drowned out by the bustle that rose up from
around them. Kitamura temporarily disbanded the group for the period until the opening of the
hall. People wanting to change would go home or change in the classrooms with the clothes they
brought with them, people wanting a break would head down to the classrooms or a store
somewhere with friends; and so the students started walking towards each and began talking
The hall was scheduled to be opened at 5 PM. People will start entering at that time, Kitamura
will make his opening presentation at 5:30, and from there, the party will officially begin! was
the plan. People could come late as they please, they could leave as they please, they could have
fun as they please, and the closing ceremony was at 7:30. All must leave at 8:00, and the
Preparatory Committee and the Student Council will assemble again at 8 AM in the following
morning. Cleanup will be thoroughly and responsibly performed.
And so, there was only one hour left until the hall opened. So then, what to do, thought a
pausing Ryuuji, but he was lightly poked at the elbow. The poker was Kitamura.
What are you and Aisaka going to do now? The Student Council will be preparing the
reception desk, but, ah, maybe you can help out!? Thatll be a real help!
Really? I dont mind.
Then, Ami put her chin over on Kitamuras shoulder and jutted her face out.
Just say no, you sucker. Yuusaku, youre such a slave driver. Guys like that dont succeed, dont
you know~?

Shaddup. What are you going to do Ami? How about you help too?
Are you kidding me? Im going to go home, and c-h-a-n-g-e See you at the opening~!
Taiga also tugged on Ryuujis sleeve like she was trying to follow Amis departing back.
Im sorry Kitamura-kun. Im also going to go back once. Lets go, Ryuuji.
Eh? Go home and do what? Im fine with staying,
I said were going home! Walk! Hurry! Okay, Ill see you later!
Thus, Ryuuji was sent homeward bound, by force practically, pulled by Taiga. What was the
point in going back home? Even if he asked, Taiga would ignore the question and not answer him.
So its okay if Santa sees you ignoring people huh?
Once they arrived at the entrance of Taigas apartment,
Once you get inside your own house, open the window to your room.
Why?
Just do it. Do what I say.
Taiga nonsensically commanded him, putting one hand to her hip and pointing one hand at the
tip of Ryuujis nose. While thinking what was this supposed to be about,
Im home.
Ah Welcome home! How were the results?
He tossed his grade card at Yasuko, curled up in the kotatsu without a care in the world. While
being exposed to a scream of Kya~ which could be good or bad for whatever he knew, Ryuuji
did as he was told, went up to the bed, and opened the south window dutifully. Across from the
window was Taigas familiar apartment, and just about when he faced himself towards Taigas
bedroom,
..Here!
Ou!?
The window slid open and immediately after, Taiga tossed at Ryuuji a box so big that her arms
could barely go around it. He promptly put both his hands out and caught it. It wasnt as heavy as
it looked, but even still, he was pretty surprised.
Wha, what the hell! Geez, thats dangerous, dont be so lazy
Be sure to open it on the double. Youll understand once you see it. Ill come over in 30
minutes.
Then the window to Taigas room was shut tight. The curtains were courteously closed as well,
and Ryuuji was left alone. No, he wasnt alone.
Whats wrong, De Yansu ka? Whats tha~t?
.Taiga, threw it at me.told me to open it..
Facing Yasuko, Ryuuji sat on the floor and was going to open the mystery box Taiga had thrown
over. The hands of mother and son both grasped the lid and pulled simultaneously. Then,
O.Ou..
Their jaws fell at the same angle. The timing that they widened their eyes and fell silent was
also simultaneous. Its only at these sorts of times that the Takasu genes of Yasuko and Ryuuji
became laid bare and that the two of them looked identical to each other.
The door made the sound of being opened, and he could hear the sound of high heels clacking
from the front door. In continuation, there was the sound of brisk footsteps entering the living
room as if they were in their own house,
Huh? Ryuuji? Yacchan? Where are you?
Over here! The bathroom!
When he answered, she returned to the hall from the living room and looked through the
already opened door. Then, the two of them pointed at each other.
Ah!
Ou!
They let out startled voices. Ryuuji had been looking at the mirror. Crouching by his feet and
wrapping the cord of a dryer, Yasuko also noticed her presence, raised her face, and looked at
Taiga.
Wo~w
She squealed and smiled. Fantastic, fantastic~, you look so cute, Taiga-cha~n! She softly
straightened the fur around her neck. Ryuuji lost track of what he should have said and his eyes
glimmered.

Taiga, in 30 minutes, transformed from a petite high school girl into a woman going to a party.
Her bangs were clipped to one side and her long wavy hair was swept up to the top of her head.
The whiteness of her forehead was striking, and her ruby red lips and dazzling eyes, the depths
intensified by jet black mascara, looked stunning. The womanliness of Taigas normally delicate,
French-doll-like face was stressed by the light makeup and her distinct and exquisite features
stood out powerfully, turning her face into a gorgeous and beautiful one.
Sheer stockings complimented the petite, knee-length, simple, silk onyx dress fitting her
beautiful figure. Her sorrowful chest neednt bother Ryuuji, as the drape of the folded cloth
covered it. Not only that, she wore long, glossy-black gloves and a youthful, short-sleeved, 7/8 fox
coat. Holding a clutch bag having a swaying black-beaded fringe, and wearing a pearl choker
that further brought out the slenderness of her neck, Taiga was indeed, perfect. She was
beautiful and graceful from any angle and her chic black was fashionable. She was so beautiful
it felt like it was a shame this was only for a party. A light smile slowly stretched across the lips of
that beauty.
.Thats great. The size is perfect.
Ryuuji also was handsomely dressed in an outfit that was so fine, in one way, it felt like it was a
shame this was for a party, truth be told.
Inside the box that Taiga threw over was a black suit, and following Yasukos advice, he made
the knot on his necktie somewhat loose, buttoned only the middle of the three buttons of his
jacket, pushed the bangs on his head up, held them down with hair wax then, oh my! Ryuuji
became Prince Charming of the underworld. Yakuza Second in Command, the Successor, names
like that suited him perfectly.
But the only thing that was off was Ryuujis mug. The fact was the slender suit itself was welltailored and the color was classy and black but didnt give off the air of mourning attire.
Is this, is this.is this really okay!? I, I, is it okay that I borrow this! I cant s-s-s-, stop
stammering..
It looked expensive enough to make him want to lick his dried lips and stammer. Taiga
shrugged her fur-covered shoulders like it didnt matter much and said to him straight.
Im not lending it. Im giving it to you.
Youre going to give it to me!? R.Aisakas embroidered on the lining, you know!?
Back when I was leaving home, I told the movers to bring everything inside the closet, and they
ended up bringing this with them. Dont worry. He got it as a gift from someone, but it was too
baggy for him. It looked like it was too much of a hassle for him to fix it, so he left it hanging there.
If it bothers you, take the name off. Destroy the evidence.
No way in hell am I going to wear that bastards hand-me-down.
Its Gucchi.
Guh..
If you wont wear it, Ill have to get rid of it.
M, M, M, MOTTAINAI! Argh, the embroidery scissors! Im destroying the evidence!
While Yasuko joined up and was nodding with him, he chopped the thread. He smoothly pulled
the thread out, and thus, Ryuuji officially got his Yakuza Second in Command suit. Taiga did give
it to me and disposing it was MOTTAINAI..and while telling himself that, Ryuuji got carried
away and looked at the mirror one more time. In it, was a charming, handsome, young man!
.which wasnt going to be the case unfortunately, but well in its own way, his face had power to
it, and it wasnt as if it didnt not didnt look good on him. Er, it did. Or so he had been thinking. He
didnt know what a third party would think.
Looking at that Ryuuji through the mirror, Taiga formed a smile on her cherry lips.
With this done, everythings all set. But, the most important thing you understand right?
Youre going to wear this tonight, and youll do that thing youre supposed to do. . I absolutely
wont get in the way. Anyway, just believe in me and relax. And, this will be the only day I can say
this, but Takasu Ryuuji, today, you are looking a lot more marginally better than usual or.you
look impressive. Thats why, keep your back straight and hold your chin up with pride.
Youre looking pretty fine yourself tonight.
.But he wasnt able to say that. His lips were trembling and he suddenly couldnt bring
himself to look at Taiga straight. Since he was told that, he wanted to hide his face. Youre making
me blush you idiot, he quietly groaned in the depths of his throat. Knowing that Ryuuji was
blushing, Taiga let out a chuckle deep in her throat.

He knows what he has to do.

So that everyone will be rewarded, so that everyone will be able to enter tomorrow with smiles,
hell spend this Eve happily. Hell complete the relay of happiness without missing one person. He
hasnt given up on Minori. Hell also email her to get her to come. Hell call her too. If Taigas got a
plan, hell try believing in the blessings of Angel Taiga. Heck, there might be the blessings of the
Great Illuminator Deity of Broken Hearts too.
He clenched his fists in front of the shabby washbasin and reinvigorated himself with an,
..Okay! He didnt know if Taiga was thinking of Kitamuras face or if she was thinking of her
Santa dream, but she bolstered the light in her eyes.
Oh~yeah Ehehe~, Yacchanll cast a grown-up spell on you two~!
Yasuko beamed at them then left the narrow bathroom while humming. She went to her room,
and when she came back, she was holding in her hands a small, purple, bottle and a worn-out
leather case. Yasuko first turned to Taiga,
Excuse me~!
Wah!
After spraying liquid from the bottle onto her own fingertips and shaking her hand in the air
several times, her hand then dived gently into the chest portion of Taigas dress. Before a shocked
and speechless Ryuuji, his mothers hand went back and forth two times through Taigas barren,
continental shelf-like, cleavage. A little while later, a pleasant smell with a mysterious warmth
reached his nose.
Hehe, that was, perfume~ Its a little on the fragrant side, more than Toilette sprays, but if
you put a lit~tle on your tummy, your chest, your warm places, you wont fail~
Tha.thank you. .Wah, it, smells really nice.real perfume, its like I really became an
adult!
And, twitching her nose to the scent more like an animal than an adult, Taiga smiled up at
Yasuko. Yasuko, also, happily replied,
Itll blend with Taiga-chans smell, and by the time the party stats, Im sure the fragrance will
come on out just a little~! Next, Ill give this to Ryuu-chan! Tada!
Inside the case she opened, was an imposing mens watch made in Japan. While it wasnt
flashy, it was a dignified watch, with no rust nor smears, and even the seconds hand moved just
fine and matched the time perfectly. For something this old, its sure been taken care of very ah.
Ryuuji realized what it could possibly be.
Waitis this, Dads?
Wrongo
Breaking her sons romantic fantasy simply, Yasuko laughed jollily.
Once upon a time, I ran off with as many expensive things as I could carry when I was running
away from home. Kimonos~, sash clips with jewels~, rings~, anything glittery that I could lay my
hands on~. I brought this with me too, but it didnt look like I could get much from it when I
showed it to a pawnbroker, and so~, while I was being stingy on selling it, it managed to last till
today~~
A-and the other stuff
Theyve a~~~ll been changed to money before Ryuu-chan turned three
. The children automatically lost the ability to speak upon hearing the far too harsh life story
of the mother. But really~, it would have been nice if we had Papas Rolex ~, it would have looked
good on you, with that diamond-studded combo~, narrated Yasuko as Ryuuji fitted the watch on
his wrist. The size was perfect and the stainless steel was surprisingly cold. Enough to make his
heart spring.
So, this, belongs to..more like.was stolen from Gramps!
Cor~rect! W~ow! It looks great, it look great, it looks great on you Ryuu-chan~! Ah, , Im glad I
didnt sell it for peanuts~! I was really wondering what I should do have done on that day~
He didnt know what day that would be, but Ryuuji kept his mouth shut for a little. His zest also
calmed down, and once he came to and looked at himself, he saw that what he was currently
wearing was a suit that Taiga snatched off from that detestable father and a watch that Yasuko
stole from his real grandfather to survive on when she left home.
It sort of felt like his entire body was clad with things of shady origin if someone was really
looking, this might have been his punishment. The muscles in his back trembled unconsciously.
He remembered something he wanted to forget. Daddy doesnt get rewarded, the series of lines

that Ami oh so high and mightily said. His suit and his watch were filled with the thoughtlessness,
the regret, the resent, and all sorts of curses left behind from fathers that abandoned their
daughters.
Why.
No, just stop. I shouldnt be thinking about resent and curses on Christmas.
December 24th, just a little before 5 PM. Yasuko had called over one of her cab-driving regulars
to the front of the Takasu residence so that Taiga wouldnt have to walk to school with her high
heels.
They luxuriously entered the cab and told the driver their destination. Ah, a date!? teased the
familiar old man, but both replied, No, it isnt! Tucked firmly inside the back pocket of the suit of
Ryuuji, whom was sinking on the cushion, was the small present he wanted to give to Minori.
Then, night fell in the town.
The illuminations of Christmas Eve twinkled on, as if they were a flood of lights.
His chest throbbed.
Hope and worry surged over him one after another.
Ryuuji fiddled restlessly with his neckties knot. Grabbing his sleeve to make him stop, Taiga
quietly said to him, I told you, youll be fine, with a voice that included a smile.
The taxi that the Yakuza Second in Command in the Gucchi suit and the elegant woman still
small in spite of the 9 centimeter heels had entered was like a magic carriage. Carrying a boy
and girl different from their usual selves going to a brilliant world different from its usual self,
the taxi drove off at 40 km/h in the direction of the radiant Christmas Eve town.

Chapter 5
We even came here early but its sooo crowded! How many people are here!? Ah, its Takasu!
Hey, Taka-chan! Over here!
5:15 PM
The gym, with a twinkling tree set in its center, its curtains closed, and lights and illuminations
adorned throughout, was stuffed with noisy students. The excitement from the Christmas party,
which was from something they didnt get to see everyday, was probably at its peak, and there
were all sorts of people getting into the spirit of things. There were those wearing the shiny party
hats handed out at the reception desks, those wearing Groucho glasses, and one wearing a suit as
well as
Ah, watch it! Dont you dare spill that! Youre going to get dust stuck on the floor with that!
A bandana and apron, acting like the old lady at the cafeteria. Eek.was the reaction of the
guy that was being yelled at, shrugging his shoulders. But he deserved it. Even with the hall this
packed, he was unsteadily holding a full cup of fruit punch in one hand, and was about to spill
the sweet carbonated juice on the floor.
Noto and Haruta pushed their way through the crowd of people as if they were swimming
through a wave with a forward crawl, and approached the old lady in the suit and the bandana.
Noticing them, the old lady, Ryuuji, said, Ou! and put on his special Yaksha face. Er, no, he
smiled.
Hey, Taka-chan. I cant believe youre wearing an apron when youve got something on that
sweet! And say, when did you get a suit that stylish!? Oh man~, lucky you~! Im stuck with this
thing I just bought at the station building!
And when Haruta pinched, wriggling the edge of his cutsew,
Harutas case is still okay. Its new too. Me, Ive got this, this. Ive been wearing it for two
years.
Noto tugged on his worn-out parka, on which the name of a minor band was written in large
letters. Their eyes watered up sadly, as if to say, If everybodys going to be dressed up, tell us~.
This, by the way, was not even as adorable as cat poop.
From behind these two pitiful men, cold voices rattled.
Hey! Thats the line for the fruit punch, you know!
Dont cut in line!
It was a little hard to tell with that crowd, but it seems that Noto and Haruta had accidentally
cut to the head of the line.
Uh oh, thought Ryuuji, who then waved his ladle with a piercing look in his eyes. Like magic,
the trajectory of the ladle banished Noto and Haruta from the dimension of the people in the line.
Basically, he scooted them in a little. As far as ladling went, Ryuuji basically had no equals.
Haruta held down his long head and bowed to the people in the line, saying So sorryy,
whereas Noto, whose glasses were fogging up from being close to so many people, spotted a team
of girls in Chinese dresses and firmly rubbed the lens with his fingers.
Having arrived to the party on a magic chariot, the prince of the underworld was currently
settling in as the person in charge of the wall-side fruit punch booth, radiating an alien presence.
But still, it wasnt as if Ryuuji wanted to take up this dull job. When he and Taiga had gotten
out of the car together, all of the amazed eyes of present students were on them. It wasnt his
imagination, it really wasnt. There were people saying how stylish, how beautiful, how cute, and
even somewhat maniacal ones like, Didnt expect any less of the Tiger. Those high-heels are
lethal weapons. But for the most part, he already had been excessively exposed to something
as ticklish as jealous eyes.
As they caught the attention of the surrounding mob, they slowly walked step by step with each
other to the center of the hall where the tree was. Then, Ryuujis eyes, by chance, looked toward
the walls. That was when things went wrong. His eyes became glued to it. Syrup dripped heavily
from the ladle, and cracker crumbs littered the tablecloths though it wasnt long after the
opening of the hall. The people who should have been serving the food were chit-chatting, Ah,
its pretty cold Still, theres sure a lot of people here.
At that moment, one of Ryuujis cheeks twitched. His right hand scratched the area that would
have been where his uniform pocket was in vain, but he then remembered that he was wearing

a suit now. He didnt have the Takasu stick either. He had tissues and a handkerchief, but no wet
tissues. He didnt have his baking soda water pack set. He didnt have his emergency stain
remover, nor did he have his magic cloth. He didnt have his favorite, all-purpose, acrylic sponge.
He didnt have his citric acid spray. He didnt even have his antibacterial gel, air freshener, or
natural soap.. He was completely exposed. He might as well been stark naked.
Ryuuji, feeling like a soldier stripped of his arguments, recklessly ran forward. Just shoot
dammit! Er, no Out of the way~! Please, please let me do it~~~! Ill keep this place from being a
mess~~~~!.. Ryuuji was exposed to enemy fire, completely naked, and started showing the
perverted habit he normally hid. A fed-up Taiga had disappeared somewhere, and once he came
to,
But Takasu, are you going to do that the whole time? I kind of feel sorry for you.
..No, not the whole time.Ithink.
He could only twist his head in response to Noto, who once again approached him, this time
lining up properly from the end of the line to reach him. While pouring the foaming fruit punch
into Notos cup, he began to question anew what the devil he was doing, and looked around at his
surroundings.
There was still a little time left before 5:30, when the party was to officially begin. However,
there were already many students inside the gym, and it was crowded beyond what he had
imagined. He got the feeling that there werent that many third-years here. They had entrance
examinations to study for naturally. But still, there were guys still in their uniforms, guys showing
off their fashion sense, a group using the occasion to go for the complete gag route by dressing up
in drag, and costumed mascots ranging from animals to copyrighted characters appearing and
disappearing here and there. There were also couples clinging to each other, being teased by
cries of XXXmas Eve, XXXmas Eve! from the drag group.
Ou!? What is that!?
Thats the Ami-chan faction thats been rumored to be getting out of control lately. Theyre
supposed to be extreme.
More than a dozen men were wearing long, fluorescent yellow Happi coats with the sloppy and
dangerous-looking characters for Ami-sama Forever and Ami-sama Love written on the back,
and wore bandanas tightly around their foreheads. They were sitting in a line at the entrance
with one knee up and with serious faces, and Wow~, the partys in hi.. Gyah! needlessly
frightening a group of girls who had finished their business at the reception table, and did it
without changing their expressions to boot. Haruta too was slurping up his fruit punch,
Theyre waiting for Ami-chan to come~. They look dangerous dont they~? Fuhihi!
He laughed at them from a distance. However, the thing that was boldly dangling from his
chest, fitted with an abnormally long telephoto lens, was a dangerous-looking camera.
..So, Haruta. Just what are you going to take a picture of.?
Overlooking this was difficult as one of the committee members running the party. But the idiot
happily said, Ah, you noticed~!? and proudly flashed a V-sign.
Ami-chan, you know~! Okay~! Shell be like jiggle, jiggle, tu~nak, tunakking with another
unbelievable

outfit~!

She

should

when

she

shows

up~!

So

borrowed

this~!

Ahahahahahahahahaha!
From Harutas big, laughing mouth, a strand of fruit punch came tu~nakking out of his mouth
like saliva. Not even pretending to care, the idiot suddenly pulled in his face and said with
determination,
I, want to just remember Ami-chans LENGS, I want to leave behind a record..
.You mean legs, Noto corrected, the tone of his voice having a sad inflection. Ryuuji forgot
the anger inside him and was going to gently wipe the mouth of his brainless friend. However,
Eh, what!? Dont act like a mom! Thats gross! .His hand was knocked away unexpectedly
roughly, and Ryuuji was hurt by this so much that even he was surprised. Noto comforted him,
patting his back, but his eyes werent looking at a watery-eyed Ryuuji, but the hubbub around.
But, so where is Ami-chan? The partys almost about to start you know? I did see Kihara and
Nanako though.
A~o! That Kihara, she was like showing off her legs with her short pants~! She is soooo baiting
us~! Sexy~! On the other hand, Nanako-samas wearing a pure white Cinderella dress~! Shes also
baiting us~! Sexy~!
The words of the idiot passed through Ryuujis ears from right to left in an instant. Now that he

mentioned it, he hadnt seen Ami yet. Itd be like that attention whore to be spending time on
getting lavishly dressed up. Maybe she was going be dressed in something as ridiculous as that
thing she wore back when she was hosting the Cultural Festival beauty pageant. Or maybe, she
was going to arrive here late on purpose, grab all the attention, then, Ha, ha! Grovel behind Amichan as she walks, smell and lick the scent of her footsteps, shed tears of joy at miracle of her
absolute beauty, and get out of the way you foolish commoners, yeehaw! This was likely, which
was why he cringed.
But
The truth was, the person hed been looking for since earlier wasnt Ami.
Even while he was mixing the fruit punch, wiping the table, and talking to Noto and Haruta,
the person he had been waiting for and hadnt forgot about for even a moment was none other
than Kushieda Minori.
Ryuuji surveyed the clamorous gym filled with students. He gently held down the small lump in
his back pocket.
There wasnt a reply yet to the email he had just sent. He had tried calling her cell phone once,
but it went to voicemail, and he hadnt heard a word from her since then. Before he knew it, he
had lost sight of Taiga too, the one who had told him while puffing out her flat chest, Youll be
fine, just leave it to me.
She still didnt come.
No, more like, just as hed thought. No matter how many times he invited her today, she was
already set on not coming. And ultimately, she still hadnt changed her mind, so maybe, she really
might not show up. No, dont think like that. Ryuuji shook his head violently. He forcefully
discarded the discouraging thoughts from his brain. There was something he wanted to show to
Minori right? There was something he wanted to give her right? What is not believing in himself
going to accomplish? And, the party still hasnt even begun yet. Things are just starting. Clenching
the ladle, Ryuuji lifted his face up, but just at that moment,
Eh~, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you, thank you, thank you very much for attending this
Christmas party today!
Kitamuras mic-amplified voice reverberated throughout the hall. Ryuuji, Noto, Haruta, and
everyone else in the hall looked toward the stage in unison and gagged. Their jaws could only
drop once they saw the brave figure of the Student President, the organizer of tonights party.
Please take out the party poppers that were distributed at the reception table! In celebration
of Christmas Eve, I would like to countdown to the beginning of the party!
On the stage, Kitamura, smiling in a pleasant mood, was dashingly dressed as a nudist Santa.
Other than the fake beard, the usual red hat, black boots, red pants, and suspenders barely
covering his nipples, he wasnt wearing anything. He was stark naked.
Why? For what purpose? The people in the hall were unable to ask him these questions and,
uninhibited, Kitamura continued to lead the party. His unwanted but exposed skin raised
goosebumps and laid bare his surprisingly muscular chest. If only that was Ami-chan.was
what was being nonsensically mumbled by Haruta, who then helplessly took a picture, thus
capturing the nude Santa.
Are you ready!? Lets celebrate this years Christmas Eve! 3, 2,
Ryuuji frantically grabbed the party popper he had left beside him. Everyone in the hall raised
the party poppers that were distributed at the reception desk, one per person. Then, Kitamura,
1, ..Merry.Christmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas!!
Yelled, and at the same time.
Its still Christmas Eve!, shouted several people, but that was overwhelmed by the powerful
bursting sounds of Pop! Pop! High voices shrilled in delight. Streamers burst out at once from the
simultaneous popping of over a hundred party poppers and brilliantly fluttered in the rays from
the lights. The air in the hall was brightly cast in tempestuous colorfulness in an instant. There
was a second, delayed blast from somewhere as someone fired his. Laughter could be heard from
where that happened.
As the smell of explosive powder floated in the air, all of the lights that had been left on by the
entrance were shut off, and only the top spotlights were left lighting the hall. The whistling of
someone trailed, laughter and cheering roared throughout, and Ryuuji was close to getting a
screw turned loose.
Yay! Merry Christmas! Heres to next year!

Merikuri~~~~~! Uhyo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!
Noto and Haruta and high-fived each other, and Ryuuji, adding an, Ou! Merry
Christmas..Eve! drank down the awfully sweet fruit punch he had poured for himself.
The carbonic acid fizzled in his throat. The strong sweetness wrapped around his tongue.
However, the heat still wasnt enough to make his heart dance. There wasnt enough power. She
still didnt come. If Minori didnt show up, he couldnt see the goal mark for the love he was
dashing toward.
The beating of his jumping heart, the stiffening of his shaking back, everything in his body,
everything, was waiting for her to appear. Ryuuji was waiting for Minoris smile. Please be here,
please smile at me, he prayed with all his might. He held out his imaginary hand, his imaginary
baton, as if asking her to grab it.
Then, it happened.
The curtains of the stage that the very unsightly Kitamura had departed from rose, and
cheering grew even more, bursting in colors of surprise and excitement. Ryuujis eyes flashed
open manically. Was it because he spotted the man that killed his old man? No. What he was
firmly clutching wasnt a gun. It was a ladle.
There sure isnt any background music playing was what he had been thinking. He knew, of
course, that they were going to fire the party poppers to celebrate the opening (Ryuuji had gotten
them after all), so he had figured that playing music afterward would build up the opening mood.
But he had been fooled. He had been completely fooled.
The first year Preparatory Committee member that was handing out sandwiches next to him
also had his mouth hanging open in surprise. He didnt know either. To think itd be a surprise to
the Preparatory Committee members too It looked like the only ones that knew were the
Student Council and them.
On the stage, a secret, one night only, special production was put on. The bones in his body
tingled, resonating to the raw sound of unfamiliar drums. The vibrations from the floor raced
across his quivering body. The blood in his whole body trembled.
Drums, guitar, bass, and a keyboard. If he remembered right, this shouldve been the band
from the pop music club. He remembered hearing that they were pretty good from the people
who saw their live performance at the Cultural Festival. What they were playing was a pop
arrangement of an all-too-famous Christmas number one single that everyone shouldve known.
And the one leading the band, singing into the mic with English lyrics was,
Ta..Taiga. Thats Taiga!
Ryuuji was about to faint.
It was Taiga, wearing a black strapless dress. Ami was
there too, wearing the same kind of knee-length black dress
and had the same kind of hairdo as Taiga. Besides them,
there was a second year from the Student Council and
another girl, who probably was the vocalist of the pop music
club.
The four fashionably dressed girls, all with stylish sideswept hair, deep red lipstick, elbow-length gloves, and black
strapless dress, joined their voices to the melody. The girls
stepped to the right, and then to the left in front of the mic
stands. They raised their arms up, tilted their heads a little,
then slowly lowered their hands from the elbows. The
groups choreography was sharp, and their singing voices
were light and harmonious.
Lights crossed, shining over the four, and from the hall, a
coordinated clapping arose. Other voices began sing along
with the major parts of song here and there. There were
smiles, talking, a Christmas song, and bright lining shining
on everything.
.Wow. Tiger issinging, and dancing.
Haruta forgot to release the shutter and danced to the rhythm, his mouth still half open. A
clapping and whistling Noto quietly replied.
Its the power of love, its love. Just what does she see in that exhibitionist..right?

But to those eyes that had quickly glanced at him, Ryuuji couldnt respond. He looked at Taiga
on the stage, then Ami, and then thought, Geez.
Geez, seriously.
He had no idea that theyd been working on this. When everyone had been so busy with
studying for exams and party preparations, just where did they find the time to rehearse for this,
this fine Christmas band?
The songstresses in black, however, trailed off their singing like they were intent on keeping
their performance to the background, and stepped up their choreography. Putting both hands to
their hips and shaking their heads, they danced with light steps. The people gathering around
the tree also followed suit, stepping to the music. Ami, the attention whore, was apparently
content on staying as only part of a set tonight. She didnt grandstand, and standing right next to
her natural enemy, Taiga, she matched her movements to everyone, and rhythmically shook her
ivory shoulders.
The sparkling gold and silver confetti soon began to scatter throughout the hall. Using the air
from the ventilation ducts, the guys from the Student Council sprinkled handfuls of confetti from
the second floor corridors. The handmade confetti fluttered up, riding on the movement of the
air. Ryuuji could also hear the simultaneous voices of girls squealing, Wow! Its like snow!
Amidst the shimmering, falling snow, the tree silently beamed light as the symbol of the party. It
was enormous, as if it were shining over the entire crowd of smiles. He couldnt see any signs of it
being damaged from his wall-side booth. The blinking mini-lights, the bell vine he made with Ami,
the silver-blue ornaments, the glossy golden balls, all glittered brilliantly under the crossing
spotlights
The same was true for Taigas star, shining at the top of the tree. Twinkling lights radiated from
it beautifully. He could see it brightly shining.
This is so wonderful.
This was, awesome.
Ryuuji looked up at the stage, still paralyzed. He looked at the beautiful Christmas decorations,
dazzling illuminations, the large tree, at the live performance, at a singing Taiga. At a dancing
Ami. At a nude Kitamura. At his partying friends. And at the many, many, smiling faces. At this
hot and crazy, ear ringing, last hoopla of the year.
He really felt like a moron for thinking even for a moment, somewhere inside, that he would
have been better off not coming here, that he would have been better off not being nominated as
a Committee Member. Ryuuji truly felt that that part of him, the part that had almost thought
that he should have forgotten about the party, and instead, call Minori over to give her his
present, was an idiot.
After all, he was enjoying himself this much, wasnt he?
That was why he wanted to be here, at this fun place at this moment, with Minori, right? He
wanted to watch Taiga and Amis surprise performance with her didnt he? He wanted to gaze at
that shining tree, whilst being shined on by the twinkling of Taigas star, and enjoy this happy
party with her, didnt he?
Ryuuji put down the fruit punch ladle and once again prayed from his heart. Kushieda, please
come here. Please come before the party ends. Everyones having fun, everyones smiling, and if
youre not here, nobodyll be rewarded. Without you, this relay of happiness wont work. This is
the amazing moment that I want to see off with smiles, together with you. The ladle was shaking
from Ryuujis powerful prayers.
It couldnt be anywhere else. It couldnt be anytime else. The night that he wanted to spend
with Minori, had to be at this party. This night was for the sake of Minoris smile.
Then, Taiga, from the stage, noticed Ryuuji watching her. Keeping eye contact, Taiga curved
her lips into a smile. Surprised you, didnt I? Youre blown away, arent you? She seemed as
though she wanted to say that. She swiveled around, back to the audience. Waiting three beats,
she then turned back. And in that instant, Taiga winked. So fast that no one would notice, and
only at Ryuuji.
I.I..Idiot!
He was taken aback, but then grinned. Im not responsible if you forget youre a klutz and mess
up.
But Taiga, despite being Taiga, didnt mess up her choreography. She pushed down her mic
stand at the same time and at the same angle as the others, then kicked up the pole, returning it

to its original form quickly. Seems like this was all a cinch for the Lord Angel Taiga that had been
claiming that Minori will definitely come, that he didnt have to worry. This was, for all intents
and purposes, a miracle wasnt it?
Takasu-kun! Fruit punch please!
Hey, Im first! Im thirsty!
The people that got a little too roused up too early came to his booth in flocks, seeking liquid
nourishment. Ryuuji snapped out of his trance, remembered his position as a Committee Member,
and said, Okay, okay, please get back in line! as he swung his ladle. He narrowed his eyes with
life-or-death determination, vowing not to spill even one drop.
Amidst the smiles of the people singing, the people dancing, the people talking, the people that
just wanted to be loud, and the people waiting for somebody, the night passed. Kitamura also
came over and explained why he was dressed like that. He thought he had a full Santa costume,
but when he had begun changing at the last minute, he realized that that there was no top. He
didnt have time to get another outfit, so he had no choice but to go out like that.was what the
story was apparently, but.
Couldnt you have just worn a T-shirt?
Ah, I see! I could have done that! You should have told me earlier!
Its not too late to wear something now.
Huh!? What!? I cant hear you!
By the time that Ryuuji realized Taiga was gone, the background music had switched to the
latest Western music and the stage curtains had closed.

So this is where you were!

His arm was suddenly pulled from behind and he lost his balance.
Ou!.. Geez, you scared me.
Eh, I cant hear you! Its really crowded.. Kya!
Its Ami-chan, its Ami-chan, its Ami-chan! Ami-chans descended to the mortal plane! He
could see guys from all over the place paddling through the waves of people to get near, like they
were bugs attracted to a bug zapper. If the Ami-sama Love Happi-coated men hadnt encircled
Ami with their own bodies and warded off the crowds of people with screams of Dont touch
her! Dont get any closer!, the two just might have been stuck in the center of a squishy Ring-aRound-the-Roses circle and suffocated.
After somehow getting enough space for two in front of the tree, Ami covered one of her ears in
the noise and smiled at him with her deep rosy, alluring lips.
Hey, hey, how was the song!? You were surprised werent you!
Yeah, that really caught me off guard! When did you guys rehearse that?
It was like a surprise present for the guys in the Preparatory Committee!
Their current location was right in the center of the music and the noise, and it wasnt going to
be possible to have a conversation on the same wavelength without both of them shouting.
Dressed up more beautifully than anyone else in her tight black dress, Ami raised up both her
hands from under the light, and then said, Ah, I love this song~! while dancing to the music.
Whistles and cheering arose from the glittering confetti. The people encircling her also raised up
their arms like Ami and shook them to the rhythm.
This is my song! Come on, Takasu-kun, raise up your hands too! Hey, what happened today!? I
like so didnt expect you to come here with such a chic suit!
She came so close to him that he could feel her body heat. Both his hands were grabbed and
lifted up while glares of jealousy and envy were stabbing at his back, but
Ho-hold on! Im looking for Taiga right now!
Eh!? What!?
Ryuuji wasnt in the mood to be dancing around merrily. Making his way through the dancing
people with hand chops and saying Excuse me, person in the back! Excuse me! Kitamura, now
wearing a T-shirt and having removed the beard and hat, made his appearance.
Ou, Kitamura! Over here! Was she over there!?
No, she wasnt there! Nobody saw her! Oh, good timing, Ami, do you know!? We cant find
Aisaka anywhere! Weve been looking for her!
Ami stopped dancing. He got the feeling that her lips moved slightly. However, it was far too

hectic and packed, and whatever she said didnt reach Ryuujis ears.
Eh!? What did you say!? I cant hear you!
He brought his ears closer to the mouth of Ami, who was almost as tall as he was. Ami brought
her body closer to him, as if she was going to wrap her arms around him, and cupped the area
between Ryuujis ears and her own mouth, and said it.
I said, she went back home.
She said, shes going to see Minori-chan. Shell drag her here. Then, shell go back home. She
said she doesnt want to get in the way and shes going to get ready for Christmas and wait for
Santa.
Ryuuji looked back at Ami, his mouth agape like an idiot. Amis large eyes reflected the
illumination and emanated powerful and cold light straight at him.
.You didnt know? You had no idea this would happen? You really had no idea?
He nodded.
The dance music played. Amid the crowds of people shaking their hands high in the air, Ryuuji
could do nothing else but nod. He couldnt move. It doesnt make any sense. Kitamura asked,
What!?, and looking back at Kitamuras face, he thought so once again.
It doesnt make any sense at all.
Why? .Why does she have to do that!?
How should I know!?
Why does she have to go back home!?
I said I dont know! .Maybe, theres something she didnt want to see!?
Eh.?
Thats why I warned you. Crud, I had enough. No matter what I say to you, it doesnt make a
difference. You dont listen to what I say.. None of you do. Im finished here.
Ami powerfully pushed Ryuujis chest away as if she was struggling to get away. Ryuuji was
overtaken by her force and his legs tripped over themselves. Ami didnt even bother to look back.
Okay Im tired, Im going home. Out of the way, get out of the damn way! Oh, why does it have
to be so crowded. Pain in the ass! I want to be by myself, Im tired!
Saying so, she forced her body away from the crowd and tottered away. Whats wrong, Amichan! Ami-chan, where you going!? Come on, lets dance! - I said, out of the way!
Screaming, Ami escaped from the arms of the people approaching her. Her white neck, white
back, disappeared in the circle of dancing people. Her voice was buried in the music and faded
away.
And Ryuuji was left.
What did she say!? Did Ami know anything!?
..She said, she left.
Sorry, couldnt hear! One more time!
..Taiga! Went home!
Eh!? Why!? Aisaka didnt even spend any time enjoying herself!
Yeah, yeah she really didnt. He looked at his friends eye-widened face. Ryuuji held his chest
which was still hurting from Amis shove.
Taiga still hasnt enjoyed herself at this party. She didnt even have the time to talk to
Kitamura. The party was a success. Everybodys having fun. Everybodys smiling. But Taiga, she
still hasnt been rewarded in the slightest way for this.
I wonder what happened!? Wait, maybe she felt sick!?
I.dontknow.
I dont know.
Ryuuji stood motionless in the growing mob and scratched his head. He couldnt move a muscle.
He didnt get it. Why did it have to be like this?
It was for Ryuujis sake that Taiga prepared that suit.
It was for the sake of everyone, it was for the sake of building up the mood of the party that she
dressed up, sung, and danced.
And again, it was for Ryuujis sake, that Taiga left. She left, to call Minori, to not get in the way?
.But then, if you go back home, by yourself..who is going to make you smile? Is this being a
part of the happy scenery?
Mumbling this, he saw, with the corner of his eyes, the Christmas tree shine. Taigas shattered
star did twinkle. But, no matter how beautiful it is, no matter how bright, if she isnt here, theres

no point. If she wasnt laughing with him under that bright tree, she couldnt be rewarded. For
whose sake is tonight so beautiful? For whose sake will Christmas come? Isnt it for everybody? An
everybody that includes Taiga? Everybody has to be happy. Did you forget that you even said
that, you klutzy tiger?
Or, do you really, think that Santa is watching? I know its hypocrisy, self-righteousness.. This
is what youve been saying the whole time, but you really believe that Santa is going to see you
again if you stay a good girl?
But there is no Santa in the real world. Theres no one that knows how much of a good girl
Taigas been. Theres nobody watching. Theres no God in the world. The towns glittering, the
illuminations are shining, everybodys smiling, and a happy Christmas will be coming to the
world, but, Taiga, wont be rewarded.
Isnt Taiga going to be alone again this year? .Didnt she go back home alone? Arent there
any adults thatd help her? Yeah, there are, but those adults arent next to Taiga now.
Thus, in the end, this year as well, Taigas going to be alone?
He patted his face.
He was thinking, still unmoving.
How do I save tonights relay?
He looked again at Kitamuras face. He was about to wrench a voice out from his throat but No,
thats not it, and swallowed down what he was going to say. He finally realized it.
There is one person that has been watching.
And theres someone that knows Taigas loneliness.
Only one person in the world. There is only one person who has always been watching Taiga
from nearby. The baton to be handed to Taiga is right here in this hand.
Theres only one person that knows that Taiga has been a good girl.
And his name is Takasu Ryuuji.
In other words me.

Is that true? Is that really true?

Her friend had asked her that again and again. She had patiently nodded each time to say that
it was true. Ryuuji said he wont leave until Minorin comes. Hes ready to stay overnight at the
school. .The words she had repeated had become close to blackmail. For the first time in a long
time, she had come to the Kushieda residence, and at its door, Minori had stood still for a while, at
a loss, biting her lips.
Taiga remembered the expression on her face.
.Im sorry, Minorin.
There was no way Minori could hear her, but even so, she whispered gently to herself.
But, you want to go dont you? You really want to go, dont you? .I know. Were friends. If we
werent, I wouldnt be able to do this much.
After all of that stuff she had said, there was no way Minori wouldnt go to the party. It was
good enough if she was going because she couldnt let him stay overnight at the school. The rest
would be up to him.
The stockings that she had tossed away were hanging on the sofa. The clutch bag was on the
floor and her short fur coat was laid crumpled by the door. She was terribly tired, and not having
the energy to take off her dress, she wrapped Ryuujis muffler around her cold shoulders. She
hadnt stolen it from him this time. When she sneezed on the walk back home to change, Ryuuji
had wrapped it around her. Shed been busy with the preparations for the party and had
forgotten to give it back.
She buried her nose into the softness of the cashmere and filled her lungs with its familiar
smell. She exhaled and put her chin against the warmth of her own breath.
The blisters on her heel hurt and it was too much of a bother to stand. Sitting sloppily on the
floor, she weakly lowered the lighting in the living room with the remote control. Today, she left
the TV off, and the wide room was quiet, as if it was the bottom of the ocean.
On the low table was a small glass tree. She gently took out the candle inside along with the
whole tray, and very carefully lit it with a lighter she bought at a convenience store. She did it
carefully, quite carefully. No way was she going to die in a fire on Christmas Eve.
In the darkened living room, an orange-colored light warmly shimmered. The glass tree really
was beautiful. The aroma of the candle gave off a light scent that tickled her nose.

She removed the pin that tightly bound her hair and resting her elbows on the table, watched
the shimmering flame. The only thing that grated her was the sound of the heater. She put the
muffler around her head and covered her ears. The room was filled with silence, and she felt that
it was fine like this. Her body, exhausted from the calamity of the past few days, seemed like it
was about doze off now.
Once again, she was alone. Santa wouldnt come. Even if she tried acting like a good girl just at
this time of year, she realized it was too late, as if she just remembered it. After all, this year, she
even got herself suspended, and the truth was, there was no Santa either.
Thats why, this year, she was alone again. And next year, she would probably be alone too.
And probably, for the years that lay ahead as well, she would always, always, always be alone.
As she closed her eyes to a drowsiness close to a peaceful death, Taiga mused. As long as she lived,
she would probably always be alone. Just like everything until now, she would be alone forever.
She was born under those parents, under that destiny, so it couldnt be helped.
She closed her eyes.
What a life. If she had to say so for herself, she did feel like she could manage, kind of, if she
assumed there was someone out there. Of course, she knew that was it just a dream. It was
because she knew that she could let herself believe that.
She couldnt let herself count on something, on someone. She couldnt live out Aisaka Taigas
life with that weak a heart. She had to become strong in order to live alone. But if it was a dream,
if it was some short-lived unrealistic fantasy, then that wouldnt be clinging on something, right?
If she killed someone she hated in her imagination, that wouldnt be a crime. If she embraced
someone in her imagination, it wasnt something that person would know about. That was how it
worked. Even if she was living in a dream, that shouldnt make her weak.
Youre saying that, even when you are so clinging on someone.
!?
She sprung up.
Did she fall asleep? No, its only been a few minutes. It felt like something suddenly crashed and
then she thought she heard someones voice say something, but,
Eh!?
This time, she really did jump up. She got up on her knees by reflex and looked toward the
direction where the sound came from.
There was a knocking sound on glass..probably the window. She could hear it coming from
the bedroom.
A thief? A pervert? A murderer? .The sound returned, one more time, this time clearer. Taiga
stood up without making a sound. She tightly covered her exposed shoulders with her muffler
and boldly ventured into the bedroom. Please, oh God no. This has to be a joke. I dont want to die
from a fire, but being killed by someone is even worse. My wooden sword is in the bedroom. I
have confidence in my strength. I dont know if I could take on a real criminal, but it is better
than going down without a fight. She opened the door, stepped barefooted in the cold, dark
bedroom, opened the curtains with the readiness to die, and
.
Shriek
What screamed was only the bottom of her throat. She was so shocked that she lost her voice.
Her knees gave way and she fell to the floor.
Why was there outside the window, at the divider between the apartment from the Takasu
residence, in a posture close to falling, hands on the window, and pounding on the glass a bear,
a bear with a Santa hat?
The hands of the bear pounded on the glass even harder, as if he was saying, Im going to fall! It
looked like he was about to, as his footing was wobbling. His stiffened body was trembling. It was
only a matter of seconds before he was about to fall, and witnessing the very moment of his crisis,
Sa
Her hesitations were blown away and she hastily opened the window without thinking.
..Santa.?
She pulled him inside. If it wasnt Santa, she would be in big, big trouble. But the bear was
pulled inside Taigas bedroom, rested on the floor on all fours for a while, caught his breath like
he was exhausted, and soon nodded.
As if to say, I am Santa.

No way.. Really?
He nodded one more time. Slowly, while holding down his enormous head. Its true. I really am
Santa. He eloquently expressed that more than anything else.
Even she didnt quite understand just what it was that came over her, but
..Ahhahahaha! What is this!? Ahahaha!
Before she knew it, Taiga broke into laughter. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and
exploded into laughter. The whole situation was too ridiculous, but, yes, she did believe. This was
Santa Claus. A Santa bear came. Because she stayed a good girl, he came to see her again just like
he promised. While laughing wholeheartedly, she grabbed Santas hand. She helped him stand
up, tugged on his arm as he tottered, and brought him to her messy living room.
Santa! Look, this is this years tree!
The bears black plastic eyes looked at the small tree. Then, he turned to Taiga and gave her the
thumbs up. Santa approved!
Yay! I knew it, I knew this was beautiful! Yes, yes, this is soooo great! Its so great that Santa
complimented my tree.. No, its not just the tree! This is great, this is great, this is great! I cant
believe it, you really came! Santa really came! Youre a bear, but a bear is fine too! This is perfect!
..Its likea dream..!
Taiga screamed, jumping up and down. She jumped again and again and turned each time.
She was so happy, so happy, and even threw a kiss with both hands to the ceiling.
Then, she sung that Christmas song she spent so much time rehearsing for the band. Hop, step,
then jump! Then, she jumped and clung to Santas torso. She hung on to him as much as she
could. She hugged him for dear life with all her might. The warm Santa bear gently put out both
his arms and firmly hugged Taigas body. He patted her head, stroked her hair, and hugged back
her body.
Have there ever been arms that had hugged her like this before?
Were there arms other than these that wouldnt betray the heart she entrusted to them?
There werent, there werent, there werent. There werent any others, anywhere in the world.
Those arms could only be found here. The heat of joy surged from the depths of her body. Her
tension rose and she felt like she was becoming an idiot. She wasnt alone this year. Taiga closed
her eyes and rubbed her cheeks against his warm chest. This year, Santa came. It wasnt a
dream. It was real. He hugged her. How..happy, she was.
While still hanging on to him with all her might, Taiga continued to sing. She nestled her face
into his dusty body. With her bare legs, she danced in steps to the song. The Santa bear also
danced. Right, left, turn, then turn the other way.
She guffawed like an idiot, danced so much her legs
tripped over each other, hung on to him, and sung a really
terrible song. She sung in loops just the phrases she loved.
She kept hugging him, tripping, and laughed so much that
tears came falling out.. She knew she couldnt keep doing
this forever. Taiga knew deep down inside. If only this
moment would last forever. If only she could keep dancing
with the Santa bear forever.
But
Aaaah.this is real, isnt it! My dreams become real..!
Muttering this, she lifted her head.
Then she made one long sigh.
Her unattainable wish was granted and became real. If
this was a dream, it would have been okay to wish for it to
last forever. After all, no matter how much she wished for it,
she would wake up from it one day.
But, because reality didnt work that way
Thank you.
She had to, with her own arms, with her own pulsing arms, close the curtains herself.
Thank you.. Ryuuji.
Catching her breath after laughing too much, she took off the head of the pained-looking bear.
A red face dripping with sweat even though it was the middle of winter appeared. Ah! Dont take
it off you idiot! She laughed on reflex. Why are you fretting that much? You didnt actually think

I wouldnt find out, did you?

So, where did you get that?
I borrowed it from someone wearing it.
Although he brusquely turned his eyes away, Ryuuji, however, smiled clumsily. The hair he
had combed back was sticking to his forehead with sweat, and was a mess. Rather, more
important than his hair was
Hey. What happened to the suit?
I traded it with the guy that was wearing this. Ah, of course Ill get it back! I will, I will!
Sigh What an idiot, Ryuuji really is an idiot.
I cant believe youd take it off when you still have the night ahead of you! Geez, you idiot! You
idiot, idiot, idiot! Even when I gave it to you! Even though youre supposed to be meeting
Minorin!
What do you mean Im an idiot!? ..What!? What do you mean Im supposed to be meeting
Minorin!?
I told you to believe in Lord Angel Taiga, didnt I? Minorin should be heading to the party. She
might already be there. Come on, you can still make it, hurry up!
What!? But.wait, buttoday Im already a mess, and I came back because I didnt want to
leave you by yourself.
What are you talking about!? Dont worry about me!
She pushed the body of the dilly-dallier hard and tilted her body back, laughing.
Santa and good girl role playing Its been a while since I laughed so hard that my stomach
hurt! Your performance.it was hilarious! Ah, Im looking forward to tomorrow of course, to
the meal you promised. Youll do fine with Minorin, and tomorrow, well eat at your house! You
didnt forget did you!?
O-of course not! Theres no way Id forget!
Good! .Come on, go! Get up! Hurry up! If Ryuuji doesnt go to the party, thatll make me a liar
to Minorin.
Ryuujis eyes looked over Taiga.
Taiga shrugged her shoulders and smiled again. She pointed at Ryuujis face from the front.
And, Santa has already come, right? ..I already received my compensation. Thats why, this
year, I have to be a good girl until the very end. Let me keep being a good girl. Sending Minorin to
the party is the real present Im giving to you. Thats why.take it. Please.
Are you really okay by yourself?
She thought Ryuuji had said something like that. And repeating over and over again, Im fine,
dont worry, go on, Taiga forcefully pulled Ryuujis arm. She was about to push him out from the
hallway to the door, but Ryuuji shouted Ou! like he noticed something, and returned to the
living room. That dilly-dallier. Just when she was wondering what that was about, Ryuuji blew
out the candle inside the tree Fire has been taken care of! and pointed at it. He couldnt
leave without any worries if the candle was still lit, or something like that.
He really is such a nitpicker.
Oookay, okay, okay. I get it. Im a klutz so I wont light it anymore. I swear. Thats good enough,
right? .Geez, youre so annoying.. I get it, so hurry up! The partys going to end! Go on, go on!
Go, go!
She pushed away his back with slaps. She even kicked him in the rear. She threw out Ryuuji
from the front door to the hallway with pushes and shoves. If he walks outside like that, hes
definitely going to stick out but.. No, its Christmas Eve after all. He might actually fit in.
Get out already you dilly-dallying dog!
Thanks! was what Ryuuji shouted in the end after finally turning his back. Before the door
was closed, Taiga didnt look at Ryuuji once.
The door was locked.
He finally left.
She took a breath. Mission accomplished. Angel Taiga did what she had to do. The sound of the
footsteps descending the stairway grew softer and softer until finally, they became inaudible.
Aaah. Im so tired
It was her own fault for making a big commotion. The inside of her lonely room returned back
to its former silence. While she stretched, she returned to the living room barefooted.
The noise of the heater was definitely jarring in her all-too-quiet room. When Ryuuji had been

there, she had forgotten all about it.

He finally left, he finally left, he finally left
She returned onto the top of the rug. While humming a stupid song, she thought about lighting
the tree again. Shed do it carefully. Shed be fine. Shed already bought a candle. It would be a
waste not to light it. But,
Huh? Huh, huh, huhwhy?
She couldnt find the lighter.
Where did she put it? She traced back her steps. The only thing she remembered was that she
placed it right over here. Then Ryuuji came in, she made that big ruckus like an idiot, and then
the flame had been blown out,
Ah. Maybe he
Ryuuji took it with him, thinking shed try to light it again. That had to be it. On top of being a
Santa without a present, he actually committed robbery. He had guts. When the 25th was over,
she was so going to kill him by 2/3rds of his life.
She reluctantly stood up and looked to see if there was anything else she could use. Taiga
looked at the desk Ryuuji had kept neat, looked at the AV board Ryuuji had kept neat, looked at
the kitchen drawers Ryuuji had kept neat, but she couldnt find a lighter nor a match.
She couldnt move out of irritation. It was her own house yet she didnt know where anything
was. She couldnt even light a candle.
No, Ive had it.
He really is a nitpicker.
No, I
And despite being a nitpicker, he made the most nonsensical entrance. A bear? Please.
No.
He should have made it in time, shouldnt he?
No.
His feelings toward Minori, he should have sai
No.
What? Why?
She asked herself out of surprise. When she touched her face, the tips of her fingers were wet.
Why were there tears pouring down her cheeks?
Ah..I get it now.
She thought about it a little, then silently nodded her head and understood why.
It was because, this was the end.
She clung on to and lived with Ryuuji as if he were a dream. While making nonsensical excuses
to herself like, Im not relying on him, Im just making him help me out, while thinking, Its just
for now anyway. Because if Ryuuji moves, or I move, or he dates Minori, or I date Kitamura-kun,
we cant stay together like this. She had lived together with Ryuuji. She lived, counting on
Ryuujis kindness. This is a dream, so it isnt being weak, right? Just this much should be okay,
shouldnt it?
That ended tonight.
She believed that Minori was attracted to Ryuuji. She believed that Ryuuji really liked Minori.
In other words, their feelings were mutual. That was why they would probably be together.
When that happens, she wouldnt be able to stay with him any longer. She wouldnt be able to go
in and out of his house like before. No matter what happens, she wouldnt be able to call Ryuuji.
She wouldnt be able to walk side by side with Ryuuji. The one next to him wasnt her.
That was why
No.
She was sad.
She was surprised.
She never thought about it before. She didnt even give it a thought that she wouldnt want to
be separated from Ryuuji. The one she was attracted to, the one she adored, the one in her
dreams had always been Kitamura Yuusaku. She only thought of him. The one she loved should
have been Kitamura Yuusaku. Why was this happening?
She remembered that day when Kitamura Yuusaku confessed to the woman he loved and had
been hurt. She remembered how angry she had been on that day when she went to pulverize

Kanou Sumire without thinking of her own future.

She was concerned more about Kitamura than herself that day. She was worried about
Kitamuras suffering more than her own. The reason why she was able to put her own heart on
hold was probably because Ryuuji was there. Because she believed Ryuuji would understand
her. That was why she didnt have to look at her own pain. Ryuuji had always been by her,
watching over her.
And that had been the correct thing, hadnt it? When she committed the mistake of violence,
the one who grabbed her arm, the one who stopped her, the one who saved her had been Ryuuji.
She had been spoiled and cared by him like that. Without realizing it, she had been counting on
his kindness.
She was able to love because she felt near her the definite power of Ryuuji.
Because when she had been daydreaming about doing this and that with Kitamura, being
thought of like this and that, Ryuuji had always watched over her. Because she had entrusted
her heart to Ryuuji.
It was as if she didnt realize it at all until this happened until she lost him. She hadnt
understood at all how fortunate she was to have a place to entrust her heart to. She hadnt
thought of Ryuuji as being strength. Why? She wanted to kick her own empty head. She hadnt
understood what she had been standing on. Without Ryuuji, how could anything bloom? She
couldnt even wipe away the tears falling down her chin.
Without Ryuuji, I cant even be in love.
After all, at this moment, I can barely stand.
I dont know if I can continue living.
I needed Ryuuji.
In other words, I had been in love with Ryuuji.
I have been, since a long time ago.
I dont want it to end like this, I dont want this to be the end, I dont want to leave Ryuujis side.
I cant bear it, I cant go on living, I cant take it. I
No!
.!
She ran without knowing what she was doing.
She ran out of the living room, kicked open the door with her bare feet, and ran out. She ran
down the cold hallway. Following the stairway Ryuuji walked down from, Taiga ran down three
steps at a time. The fringe of her mini skirt ripped. Not knowing how to stop her pouring tears,
she dashed past the marble entrance like there was no tomorrow. She held her breath, as if
praying. Please, please, let me make it in time.
She pressed her body against the heavy glass door to open it. She tripped outside into the chilly,
gusty road.
The cold asphalt pierced her naked feet.
She looked right. She looked left. He wasnt there. Ryuuji was gone. He wasnt here. What
should she do? She covered her tear-distorted face. Her feet stopped, and breathing in all the
wintery air her lungs could handle, she screamed at the nighttime sky,
..Ryuujiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii..!!
She noticed a passing couple looking at her in surprise. A fight? I feel sorry for her Its
Christmas Eve isnt it? So Im pitiful am I. Taiga wailed with an even louder voice like an infant.
She cried and cried, and called out Ryuujis name.
She knew it wouldnt reach him, but she still continued. She continued yelling even as her
throat became sore. Her heart was trashed, as if a storm had passed through it, but her head was
clear. A part of her looked down on her wailing self. That was why I hate reality. Unlike dreams,
reality can break. Things are lost.
The moment he stepped in when she wanted him to, the feeling of holding him, it was all real.
The fact that she wished to be with him, to not lose him, was also real. All of that broke into pieces
and disappeared.
Yes, she had been dreaming a foolish dream the whole time.
The idea that she only adored Ryuuji as a father figure, and the thought that once Ryuuji and
Minori were together, shed be able to leave the nest and survive alone. This was the future that

shed envisioned, but it was all a complete misunderstanding. How stupid of her. Shed been
thinking something as brainless as being able to bear her loneliness because Ryuuji, her father
figure, wanted her to survive on her own. She convinced herself that that was what a father did.
But reality was different. Ryuuji wasnt her father. Her attachment toward her father, who
didnt care about her, and her attachment to Ryuuji were different. The moment they parted
ways, her leaving of the nest wasnt positive at all. She only felt loss. She lost Ryuuji and now
she had to live out her solitary future by herself.
The truth was she wanted to be with Ryuuji. It took this to happen for her to realize it. They
had always moved forward through each coming day, hand in hand. But now that was
impossible. Everything was too late. Reality broke. She had woken up from her dream. The only
thing left was herself.
Where did she make the mistake? Ryuuji even told her that, Im a dragon. Youre a tiger. The
dragon and the tiger stand equal to each other. But her stupid self saw only dreams and hung
on to Ryuuji as much as she could, being spoiled by him, counting on him, and chose to run away
from the issue, disregarding it completely. She had put it off, thinking that one day, one day, she
would leave him, and this was the result.
Ryuuji!
The world was flooded in tears.
I dont care anymore, I hope everything breaks. she wanted to say. If this was a movie or a
drama, shed be moved off-screen, or maybe the male lead would appear before her. But reality
was cruel, and the cameras wouldnt move away naturally nor would Ryuuji appear. It would be
dramatic if she died of exhaustion, but humans dont die so easily. She in particular was made too
tough.
She was miserable, bitter, sad, lonely, and pitifully stupid. But, she was alive. That was Taigas
reality. She wouldnt run away. She cried, but she wouldnt die here.
Because she wanted to become strong.
Because that was the truth.
She remembered the beauty contest at the Cultural Festival. She stood up that time. This time,
shell prove that she can stand up. Even without Ryuujis support, even without Minoris support,
shell prove that she can stand up by herself. Shell prove that she can live on by herself from now
on for the rest of her life. Shell prove that she can get up.
She lifted her tear-stricken face.
She will live, accepting and taking everything, no matter how shameful it was. She has already
lost a lot, received a lot of pain, and been battered as she grew up, but one day, she will definitely
become a truly strong adult.
She will get up, dammit, to reach that future. Even if she falls again and again, shell stubbornly
get up each time. So what if she was abandoned by her parents? Bring it on. So what if she got
suspended? Bring it on. So what if Ryuuji is gone? Bring it on. Bring it on. Bring it on.
This will be the training she needs to live out the rest of her long life by herself.
Even so, she yelled out his name one last time out of lingering regret and,
Ryu..ACHOO! .Ah
A powerful sneeze blew it away.
It was too cold to be outside with her feet and shoulders exposed. Her nose started running.
Taiga clamped her back teeth down, sniffed, and stood up sluggishly. She brushed away the dirt
on her knees. She rubbed her face which itched from the tears and mucus. She stood up, walked,
and disgracefully returned to her apartment building.
And then, this time, she finally will be alone.
And then, and then.
Taiga wouldnt know until later, but when she ran out from the entrance of her apartment, at
the same time, Minori had been there on the other side of the street. She hadnt just been passing
by. She had come to the apartment to hear what Taigas true feelings were.
And then, and then, and then.
After seeing all of this, Minori understood; what she had suspected hadnt been wrong at all.

Ah, I really did it this time.

The stars and the moon twinkled romantically in the midwinter sky, and shined weirdly on
Ryuujis contorted ogre face.
Ryuuji, still in the bear costume, stood in front of the school gate. The present he was going to
give to Minori was still in the pocket of his suit and he didnt know the phone number of the guy
he traded it with. He just now realized that it was someone from a different class. He bungled up
at the last minute. Minori wasnt in the hall yet, but he still couldnt find that guy. He might have
already gone home after Ryuuji had left the hall.
Thinking that maybe he was still hanging around nearby, Ryuuji scurried out of the hall and
into the chilly outside weather, but there were no signs of people anywhere. He wondered what
he should do as he carried the bear head under his arms, briefly exhaling a white breath. Just
how was he supposed to talk to her without a present?
I screwed up, Taiga. The single mistake quickly shook his heart unsteadily. He suddenly
became afraid and wanted to run away. But the reason why he wouldnt do that was because he
felt like he received the imaginary baton from Taiga, who even kicked him in the back to get him
to come. If he didnt hand it to the next person, Taigas wishes wouldnt be passed on. The relay in
his dreams will break.
He had lost the present, but his hand wasnt empty.
Ryuuji clenched the cheap synthetic fiber bear hand. In the cold midwinter wind, he quietly
confronted the part of him that was becoming timid. What he wanted to show Minori was always
inside him. Nothing was going to happen if he ran away. He stretched his back inside the baggy
costume, stood up straight, and lifted his face. It wasnt a Gucci suit, but Taigas present was
definitely in his hands.
Then.
Howdy!
.O, ou!
Arriving with light footsteps was a knit-capped Minori. Minori, whom he had been waiting for
so long.
His mind went blank. His body stiffened like he was paralyzed.
Minori, wearing a down coat, denim pants, and a red-checkered muffler, sternly brought up
her gloved right hand and smiled as her nose, red from the cold, sniffed the air.
Ryuuji hesitated, but it wasnt because of the cold. He was trembling from panic more than he
thought. First, tell her thanks for coming. Explain why youre wearing that stupid costume. Then,
tell her why you wanted her to come. .was what he had been thinking, but the moment he saw
Minori, all of that went flying away. Everything was about to come on. Everything inside his heart
was about to come out, regardless of the order. He desperately tried to force it inside and simply
stood there.
Thats a nice bear you got there, Takasu-kun.
The one who made the first move was Minori. Ryuuji, as stiff as a board, saw the expression on
Minoris face in a normal conversation between the two of them, the first time in a while.
Minori noticed how he was looking at her, and pulled her cap down tight. Ryuuji automatically
pushed up the knit cap which had been covering her eyes.

The two of them stayed silent. Minori, once again, grabbed her knit cap and pulled it further
down. Ryuuji pushed it up again. She pulled it down again. He pushed it up. This unintelligible
secret war continued, until finally,
Ku, Kushieda!
Ryuuji took off Minoris knit cap. Minori froze for a moment, and he wondered what she was
thinking. She covered her face with both her hands.
He grabbed her wrist because he wanted to see her face. He tried to pull a hand away from her
face, but Minori was very strong, and he couldnt easily pry it away.
Wha, whats up with you!? What!
More like, whats wrong with you Takasu-kun!?
No, it should be whats wrong with you!?
Takasu-kun is the one, Takasu-kun is the one that.. AhIve had it! Deeeeeeeei!
Habu! And thus, Ryuuji became unable to say anything next. Minori used both hands to

unfairly grab and hold down Ryuujis lips.

Bubibe.ua!?
..Takasu-kun.sorry. Let me say this first.
Saying so, she pushed her face through the space between her extended arms. She looked
straight down. She wouldnt show what expression she had to Ryuuji. Then, she quietly went on.
Hey.do you remember? Back at summer vacation, at Amins villa. We talked about it in the
evening, right. About that weird stuff. Like UFOs and ghosts.
Bu..bu?
While moaning ububu, Ryuuji slightly tilted his head, thinking, What? He had no idea what
Minori was trying to say.
If he recalled correctly, Minori once described love in terms of UFOs and ghosts. The people that
could see them will see tons, but she didnt think they existed since she couldnt see anything, or
something like that. Then, she said that it could be because she simply couldnt see them. Thats
right. Thats why he had been wishing that itd be great if Minori also could see UFOs or ghosts.
But there must be a lot of significance to remembering this now, right?
You know, about the UFOs and ghosts. I think that I dont have to see them at all.. It looks like
its better that I dont. Lately, Ive been thinking about it a whole lot, and Ive come to feel that
way.. I just wanted to say that to you, Takasu-kun. Thats the reason I came here.
And a whole lot was turned rightside up, just now. A lot of significance.
Sorry for saying just what I wanted to say.. Kushieda out.
Minoris fingers gently separated themselves from Ryuujis lips. Her hand gently took back the
knit cap from Ryuujis hand.
She tightly fitted it on, pulled it down up to her eyes, and gave a salute with one hand. It looked
like only her lips laughed.
Minori then turned away.
She strode away in big steps briskly and went home like that.
What?
In other words?
She could tell I was going to confess and then turned me down in advance?
Eh? Really?
I was shot down?
Really?
Right now?
Seriously?
.Is this heartbreak.?
On the midwinter night street, Ryuuji stood as still as a rock. Popping up in his head were
endless question marks. He neednt have even bothered worrying about the present. He had
been totally rejected. The pain still wouldnt come. He simply stood there in a daze from the dull
shock and looked at the sky.
Things may break, but they can be fixed. I dont think its going to be fixed anymore.
And for each time something breaks, it can just be made all over again. I have the feeling that
I cant make it again.
Thats why, theres no reason to cry if something breaks. I cant even cry at the moment.
Still, he looked for Orion which would surely be shining up above him.
He looked for someone within the call of his voice.
The skyrotated.in a big way.

December 25th, 10 AM.

Ryuuji was discovered, sprawled on the kitchen floor by Yasuko, who had just woken up. Just
when did he fall, nobody other than him knows. That was why, even now, no one knows.
Ryuuji had been hit by influenza, with a fever of over 39 degrees celsius.
He was admitted into the hospital he was carried to and was still not fully conscious. Informed
by Yasuko, Taiga came to the hospital in a big rush and had strangely swollen eyes and a sniffling
nose herself. It would be two days later, when Ryuuji became conscious, that she would find out
what happened on Christmas Eve.
And thus, wounded all over, the year came to a close. Christmas, end-of-year cleaning, all of it

melted away inside Ryuujis fever-induced dream.

.and then, i, demonically transmigrated..
Ryuu-chaaa~n, hang in there~! Get a hold of yourself~! Despite the tearful voice of his mother
in the background, Ryuujis bubbling brain continued to babble about his delusion.
.i fired killing beams with taiga bibibi, bibibi.i wanted to rule the world.i think. but
mom was the one pulling the strings and when i took off her mask, i saw kushiedas face.what
what, kushieda. what are you. then, the bachelorettes red string was cut, and she gave in to
despair, and.boughtan apartment.
Ryuuji was fighting something with a sword in one hand in a world of blazing magic. He
jumped into the air, slashed away at shadows, shouted names of special moves, while somewhere
inside regretting, I couldnt take out the big trash!
..but it was an apartment withanti-earthquake fraud.
Hang in there you coward! A small hand gave him a slap. Ah, his eyes opened a little!
shouted his real mother. Stop, it hurts. But, he couldnt talk. Ryuuji only continued to vainly slash
away at enemies in the world of magic.
Ah, how stupid, how stupid.
If he opened his eyes, just what was he supposed to see?
After all, havent all the stars in the sky exploded and disappeared a long time ago?
And then, there was darkness.

Authors Notes
Officially into my thirties! This is T***miya Y*yuko (age 30). A day had come when I have
forgotten the access code for my condominium main entrance.
This incident happened as I arrived at the entrance after walking my dog while wearing only a
furry jacket on top of my pyjamas. I stood dumbstruck as I carried the dog in my arms. It was only
four numbers, and yet they completely slipped from my mind. Besides, I also realized I was
wearing my pants inside out, as I usually wake up in the afternoon. I tried pushing a few possible
combinations, but the door still wouldnt open. As it was winter, I felt cold and embarrassing at
the same time Thank goodness a neighbour was around, or I wouldnt be able to go home. I
really had that terrible feeling that how its all over, as things are beginning to go downhill from
now on. I cant stop myself from aging!
And so, I turn 30 this year, and Toradora! too has published its 7th volume. I thank every
reader from the bottom of my heart. A a, a, a actually!
Since 2005, this series has released seven volumes plus one spin-off volume. Thanks to the
support of everyone, I now have something really, really amazing to announce: Toradora! is
going to get its own anime adaptation! OH YEAHHHHH!!!!! (Translator note: This was written in
2008.)
Rather than being happy, I was more like W, w, w, w, what should I do!? To repay everyones
support, I will try my best to write many good stories for everyone to enjoy. Im counting on you
guys to give me your love and energy!
Due to the reason above, I cannot afford to age anymore! Oh, please let time stop in its track!
Or rather, turn it backwards! In other words, even if it costs me my brain, give me back my youth!
I can also pay with my body or age! Everyday Im seriously wondering how to retain my
youthfulness. Just as I was finished writing this volume, my left cheek was suddenly swollen, with
a painful and hot red lump growing on it. At first I paid no notice to it, but very soon it grew so big
I could no longer make any facial expressions. This obviously required a trip to the hospital. Upon
entering the dermatology department, the doctor merely said, Whoa! upon seeing me, and duly
pointed me towards the bed without explaining anything as he took out his knife to cut open, etc,
etc, Is this punishment for being so stubborn with being youthful? Could this be divine
retribution for foolishly attempting to meddle with the flow of time? I cant believe I still get these
even at this age. (You can stop speculating now, it isnt acne.) I feel so ashamed of myself. In that
case, I might as well live my life to the fullest. Lately Ive been eating lots of sweets, sending loads
of glucose into my brain.
Once again, thanks to everyone for reading this till the end! The story will get even better in
Toradora! Volume 8, so stay tuned! Finally, to the main editor and Yasu-sensei, lets continue to
work hard together!
Takemiya Yuyuko